Lawyers seeking recognition of the human rights of LGBTI people are scheduled to learn on Sept. 27 whether the Tanzania-based East African Court will take a stand for LGBTI rights by ruling that anti-gay laws such as the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act are unacceptable throughout East Africa. In its East African legal challenge to the Anti-Homosexuality … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Burundi
Tally of LGBTI rights, wrongs in 29 sub-Saharan countries
Several countries in sub-Saharan Africa have made progress in recognizing the human rights of LGBTI people, but much work remains to be done in the region’s 29 countries that still have laws against same-sex intimacy. LGBTI rights in those African countries are the focus of the following excerpts from the 2015 edition of the U.S. … Continue reading
Don’t fall for photo of man (repeatedly) burned alive
Until credible evidence emerges, it’s probably wise to set aside a widely shared story on Facebook that a man was burned to death in South Sudan because he was gay. The article appeared on Hot in Juba, a website that describes itself as an “all round celebrity gossips and entertainment news website,” based in Juba, … Continue reading
New blog targets French-speaking nations’ anti-LGBTI laws
This week marks the first official week of publication of the French-language affiliate of the “Erasing 76 Crimes” this blog. “76 Crimes en français,” which has been published in beta version for months, provides coverage in French of an under-served part of the world — the 13 francophone countries, including 12 in Africa, where LGBTI … Continue reading
Stop ignoring us, say young LGBTIQ Africans
At the Changing Faces Changing Spaces conference June 17 to 19 in Kenya, young LGBTIQ activists protested that they were often ignored by the LGBTIQ movement and left out of strategic decisions. They called for an end to attitudes that have “silenced the voices of young LGBTIQ Africans in the struggle for LGBTIQ rights in … Continue reading
Human rights defenders urge respect for LGBTI Africans
Human rights advocates from more than a dozen African countries have issued a call for respect for the human rights of LGBTI people in Africa, a move that builds on a resolution made last year by the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights. The gathering included representatives from Burundi, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo, … Continue reading
Ugandan anti-gay law is dead, but court challenge lives on
A legal battle continues against Uganda’s now-defunct Anti-Homosexuality Act, led by the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), a gay-friendly legal advocacy group in Uganda. HRAPF will not be joined in the case by the UHAI East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative (UHAI-EASHRI) or the Health Development Initiative-Rwanda (HDI-Rwanda), because the East African … Continue reading
Anti-gay Anglicans blast archbishop for friendly chats in U.S.
The idea that anti-gay African Christians could be friends with gay-affirming church leaders in the United States is “offensive,” “unbiblical,” and “a tremendous obstacle,” according to hard-line anti-gay Anglican leaders in Africa. In a letter to Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi, five conservative Anglican leaders last month publicly criticized him for attending a meeting in … Continue reading
Burundi: Harassment, then support for young lesbian
This young woman’s story from Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, comes courtesy of Quebec City-based journalist Ruby Pratka, who publishes the blog Year of No Fear. In Burundi, same-sex intimacy is punishable by up to two years in prison. Dominique’s story I’m going to tell you one girl’s story. For safety reasons, we’ll just call … Continue reading
Challenge to Ugandan anti-gay law seeks regional impact
Activists in Uganda are continuing their legal battle against the country’s now-defunct Anti-Homosexuality Law, hoping that the Tanzania-based East African Court of Justice will issue a ruling that will make clear such anti-gay laws are unacceptable throughout East Africa. Uganda’s Constitutional Court overturned the law on Aug. 1 on procedural grounds — the lack of … Continue reading
