U.S. Gov't Talking Points On Uganda Anti-Gay Bill

Thanks to Karen Ocamb of LGBT POV, I have access to these talking points the State Department (Bureau of African Affairs) has released about the possibly imminent passage of the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda:

·        The Department of State opposes the draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which we view as manifestly inconsistent with international human rights obligations.  We continue to monitor activity surrounding the proposed legislation, including the public debate.

·        President Obama, Secretary Clinton, Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, and U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Jerry Lanier have all spoken out in opposition to the bill.  These public statements underscore the U.S. government’s strong support of the rights of the LGBT community in Uganda and throughout the world.

·        We are not alone in our calls to stop this bill.  Many from the international community have also expressed shared concern about the draft bill.  And Uganda's own Human Rights Commission issued a report in October 2010 calling the bill unconstitutional and inconsistent with international law.  Many civil society groups in Uganda have advocated against this legislation, and we continue to support those efforts.

·        We urge Ugandan lawmakers to reject this bill and, instead, to safeguard the human rights of all Ugandans and ensure that neither sexual orientation nor gender identity provides a legal basis for discrimination or persecution.

·        The White House, the Department of State, and our Embassy in Kampala have been very active in speaking up, both privately and publicly, against the bill and promoting the protection of human rights for LGBT individuals in Uganda.

·        Public statements by President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Bureau of African Affairs Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson have urged Uganda to safeguard the human rights of all Ugandans, regardless of sexual orientation.

·        We meet regularly with human rights advocates and representatives of LGBT groups to solicit their advice on how we can best support the protection of human rights in Uganda.

·        We continue to monitor the situation closely and are reviewing how we would respond to the passage of this legislation.

·        Stating our views about the draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill does not amount to meddling in Uganda’s parliamentary affairs.  Our statements are grounded in international human rights law and the obligations that it entails for all states, including Uganda and the United States.

·        If adopted, a bill further criminalizing homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda.  Respect for human rights is key to Uganda’s long-term political stability and democratic development, as well as its public health and economic prosperity.

·        Human rights are also a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.  The White House, the Department of State, and our embassies and consulates overseas will continue to advocate for greater respect for the human rights of LGBT individuals, and we will continue to speak up when we are concerned about abuses, such as those that would be encouraged by or follow from the legislation proposed in Uganda.

Activists are asking people to contact the Uganda Embassy at:

His Excellency Professor Perezi K. Kamunanwire 

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 

Tel: (202) 726 4758 

Fax: (202) 726 1727 

pkamunanwire@ugandaembassyus.org

You can also sign online petitions here (allout.org, 250,000+ so far) and here (avaaz.org, 650,000+ so far). TAKE ACTION!

Ugandan Lesbian Activist Wins Human Rights Award

Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera

Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, the founder and executive director of Freedom and Roam Uganda, an LGBT rights organization, has been awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

The award is named after the first secretary-general of Amnesty International, and is a collaboration among 10 of the world's leading human rights organizations to give protection to human rights defenders worldwide. The Jury consists of: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organisation Against Torture, Front Line, International Commission of Jurists, German Diakonie, International Service for Human Rights, and HURIDOCS. It is worth 20,000 Swiss francs.

In issuing the announcement, the award organization noted that Nabagesera has had the courage to appear on national television and radio stations in Uganda and has issued news statements on behalf of the gay community. In 2007 she was harassed at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, and on many occasions afterward, was hackled, threatened, and even attacked. Since then she has moved from house to house, afraid to stay long in the same place. Her name was on a "gay list" published by the Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone on January 26, after which, another colleague on the list, David Kato, was murdered. 

"This is a fitting tribute to the courage of one woman, Kasha Nabagesera, and to all activists working under conditions of extreme threat," said Dipika Nath, LGBT researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Congratulations to Nabagasera. Hopefully, the attention on LGBT rights in Uganda will have an impact on the proposed draconian anti-homosexuality legislation.

IGLHRC Appalled Draconian Uganda Anti-Gay Bill May Pass

The infamous Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill which has been denounced by the White House, the President and Secretary of State and 90 members of Congress is now apparently on a fast track to pass before the Legislature adjourns on Wednesday May 11th.

IGLHRC Shocked at Possible Passage of Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality BillRights Protections for All Ugandans PrecariousFor Immediate ReleaseContacts:Cary Alan Johnson, Executive Director, IGLHRC (New York) Tel: (347) 515 0330; Email: cjohnson@iglhrc.org 

(New York, 6 May 2011) The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned at reports that the now infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda may be passed by that country's Parliament. The Bill, first introduced in October 2009, was ostensibly "shelved" by Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni following an international outcry. However, public hearings on the Bill took place today in the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. The remaining stages of the legislative process – namely second and third readings of the bill and presidential adoption – could be completed within the remaining week of the current parliamentary session. 

"We are shocked that after more than 2 years of engagement with the government of Uganda about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, this heinous piece of legislation may still become law," said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC Executive Director. "Governments, world religious and political leaders, and HIV prevention experts have all appealed to Ugandan parliamentarians to put their distaste and fear of LGBT people aside and use their better judgment for the good of the country." 

The Bill reaffirms existing penalties for consensual same-sex relationships, and criminalizes the "promotion of homosexuality" and failure to report homosexual activity. The Parliamentary Committee itself has said that the provisions of the Bill are redundant and unnecessary. Most controversially, the Bill would punish "aggravated homosexuality" – including activity by "serial offenders" or those who are HIV positive – with the death penalty. To IGLHRC's knowledge, the provisions related to the death penalty remain part of the Bill, despite statements by the Bill's author that these would be removed. The Bill not only violates multiple protections guaranteed by the Constitution of Uganda, but also contravenes the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and other international human rights treaties to which Uganda is a party. 

"There can be no reason to pass this Bill other than to take the attention of Ugandans – and the rest of the world – away from the fact that Uganda is slipping into political chaos," stated Johnson. "Clearly the issue of homosexuality is being used to deflect attention from the crackdown on democracy and freedom of speech that has led to at least 5 deaths, more than 100 injuries, and hundreds of arrests in the last month. IGLHRC stands firm with all the people of Uganda as they struggle to maintain their freedom and dignity."

Hillary Clinton Issues Statement on Murder of Uganda LGBT Activist

David Kato, a well-known Ugandan gay activist, was found murdered in his home

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a statement about the murder of Ugandan gay activist David Kato and called the President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni

We are profoundly saddened by the loss of Ugandan human rights defender David Kato, who was brutally murdered in his home near Kampala yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues. We urge Ugandan authorities to quickly and thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible for this heinous act. 

David Kato tirelessly devoted himself to improving the lives of others. As an advocate for the group Sexual Minorities Uganda, he worked to defend the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. His efforts resulted in groundbreaking recognition for Uganda's LGBT community, including the Uganda Human Rights Commission's October 2010 statement on the unconstitutionality of Uganda's draft "anti-homosexuality bill" and the Ugandan High Court's January 3 ruling safeguarding all Ugandans' right to privacy and the preservation of human dignity. His tragic death underscores how critical it is that both the government and the people of Uganda, along with the international community, speak out against the discrimination, harassment, and intimidation of Uganda's LGBT community, and work together to ensure that all individuals are accorded the same rights and dignity to which each and every person is entitled.
Everywhere I travel on behalf of our country, I make it a point to meet with young people and activists -- people like David -- who are trying to build a better, stronger future for their societies. I let them know that America stands with them, and that their ideas and commitment are indispensible to achieving the progress we all seek. 

This crime is a reminder of the heroic generosity of the people who advocate for and defend human rights on behalf of the rest of us -- and the sacrifices they make. And as we reflect on his life, it is also an occasion to reaffirm that human rights apply to everyone, no exceptions, and that the human rights of LGBT individuals cannot be separated from the human rights of all persons. 

Our ambassadors and diplomats around the world will continue to advance a comprehensive human rights policy, and to stand with those who, with their courage, make the world a more just place where every person can live up to his or her God-given potential. We honor David’s legacy by continuing the important work to which he devoted his life.

The New York Times has more coverage of David Kato's death. Their article has a lot of information on his significance as an LGBT rights activist in Africa:

In October, a Ugandan newspaper called Rolling Stone (with a circulation of roughly 2,000 and no connection to the American music magazine) published a story that included photos and whereabouts of gay people, including several well-known activists like Mr. Kato.

The paper said gay people were raiding schools and recruiting children, a belief that is quite widespread in Uganda and has helped drive the homophobia.

Mr. Kato and a few other gay activists sued the paper and won. This month, Uganda’s High Court ordered Rolling Stone to pay hundreds of dollars in damages and to cease publishing the names of people it said were gay.

But the danger remained.

“I had to move houses,” said Stosh Mugisha, a woman who is going through a transition to become a man. “People tried to stone me. It’s so scary. And it’s getting worse.”

On Thursday, Giles Muhame, Rolling Stone’s managing editor, said he did not think Mr. Kato’s killing had anything to do with what his paper had published.

“There is no need for anxiety or for hype,” he said. “We should not overblow the death of one.”

That one man was considered a founding father of Uganda’s nascent gay rights movement. In an interview in 2009, Mr. Kato shared his life story, how he was raised in a conservative family where “we grew up brainwashed that it was wrong to be in love with a man.”

He was a high school teacher who had graduated from some of Uganda’s best schools and he moved to South Africa in the mid 1990s, where he came out. A few years ago, he organized what he claimed was Uganda’s first gay rights news conference in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, and said he was punched in the face and cracked in the nose by policemen soon afterwards.

Friends said that Mr. Kato had recently put an alarm system in his house and was killed by an acquaintance, someone who had been inside several times before and was seen by neighbors on Wednesday. Mr. Kato’s neighborhood on the outskirts of Kampala is known as a rough one, where several people have recently been beaten to death with iron bars.