Uganda LGBTQI advocacy groups denounce human rights abuses
Anti-Homosexuality Act has created human rights crisis in Uganda
Ugandan organisations advocating for LGBTQI+ rights recently spoke out in unison on Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, against the growing restrictions on fundamental human rights, the systematic targeting of human rights defenders and political dissidents, and increasing vulnerability of LGBTQI+ communities.
The advocacy newspaper Kuchu Times and the legal aid organization Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) condemned the “legislative assault” by the Ugandan regime, which they say has precipitated a humanitarian crisis characterized by widespread human rights violations.
According to HRAPF, legal decisions by both courts of law and the legislature have negatively impacted civil society organisations working on issues of social, economic, civil and political rights in Uganda.
A Kuchu Times editorial says the LGBTQ community is “at a critical juncture,” that threatens the very foundation of universal human rights.”
“For decades, the Ugandan LGBTQI+ community in particular has existed under the shadow of colonial-era penal code provisions that criminalize same-sex relations. Yet 2023 and 2024 have brought unprecedented challenges with the passage and enforcement of the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2024, one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws,” the editorial says.
“In April 2024, the Constitutional Court delivered a devastating blow when it upheld most provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, maintaining penalties including life imprisonment for same-sex relations and the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality.’ The court’s decision legitimized state-sanctioned discrimination and emboldened those who seek to erase LGBTQ existence from Ugandan society.”
The repercussions have been swift and severe as evidenced in the reports published by HRAPF and other human rights organisations in and outside Uganda.
“These developments undermine the spirit of Uganda’s constitution and run counter to several international human rights obligations,” HRAPF says in a press release marking Human Rights Day.
Human rights abuses, including violence, threats of violence, arrests, torture, evictions, denial of essential services, extortion, and online attacks have since become rampant, with state security operatives among the leading perpetrators.
“People are arrested not only for being gay, but also for being suspected to be gay, for socializing with people who are gay, and in extreme cases, renting a room to or hosting anyone one who is perceived to be gay,” Kuchu Times says.
“Social media platforms have also become hunting grounds where LGBTQI+ individuals are outed, threatened, and subjected to coordinated campaigns of abuse,” Kuchu Times‘ editorial says. “Digital violence has real-world consequences, leading to physical attacks, extortion, and community exile.”
“On this Human Rights Day, we must affirm an incontrovertible truth: LGBTQ rights are human rights in Uganda and across the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes no exceptions based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Every person, regardless of who they love or how they identify, possesses inherent dignity and equal rights under the law.
“The theme ‘Building Our Future Together’ cannot be realized when entire communities are excluded, persecuted, and denied their fundamental freedoms. Uganda’s future strength lies not in conformity enforced through violence and discrimination, but in embracing the diversity of all its citizens,” Kuchu Times’ editorial says.
