UGANDA: PARLIAMENT CONSIDERS CRIMINALIZING HOMOSEXUALITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 001271 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: PARLIAMENT CONSIDERS CRIMINALIZING HOMOSEXUALITY REF: A. KAMPALA 00070 ¶B. 08 KAMPALA 1087 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: A Member of Parliament belonging to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) submitted draft legislation criminalizing homosexuality on October 14, with very extreme penalties for offenders. A local gay and lesbian NGO told Poloff that the legislation, even in draft form, is already resulting in increased stigmatization and that if passed, homosexuals will seek asylum overseas. While the Ugandan government has yet to either endorse or reject the legislation, Ethics Minister Nsaba Buturo is openly campaigning for its passage. On October 24 President Museveni told Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson that Uganda is not interested in a "war with homosexuals" and that the legislation goes "too far". End Summary. -------------- Uganda Debates Criminalizing Homosexuality -------------- ¶2. (U) NRM MP David Bahati's "anti-homosexuality" bill mandates death for "aggravated homosexuality" - which is defined as sexual assault, rape or incest of a homosexual nature - life imprisonment for consensual homosexual sex, and seven years' imprisonment for aiding, abetting, or procuring homosexuality. The draft legislation states that individuals can be convicted of aiding, abetting, or procuring homosexuality on the evidence of just one witness. ¶3. (U) The bill carries a penalty of five to seven years imprisonment for the "promotion of homosexuality", and a fine or three years imprisonment for failing to report violations of the statue to authorities within 24 hrs. The provisions of the bill also apply to homosexual acts committed by Ugandan nationals outside of Uganda, void pre-existing international agreements not consistent with the bill, and outlaw the use of terms like "sexual orientation," "sexual minorities," and "gender identity" to describe homosexuality or "gender identity disorders." ¶4. (U) Human rights groups and legal experts have noted that the bill, if passed, would subject government officials, health care providers, human rights advocates, parents, and teachers to fines or potential prison time for failing to report homosexual orientation or activity to local authorities. -------------- Status of the Bill in Parliament -------------- ¶5. (U) Although Bahati belongs to the ruling NRM party, he introduced his legislation as a "private members' bill," meaning the bill is not sponsored by the Ugandan government. After reviewing the bill, Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee will hold public hearings and then make its recommendation to the rest of Parliament, likely in January 2010. ¶6. (U) Meanwhile, State Minister for Ethics and Integrity Nsaba Buturo is actively lobbying for the bill's passage. Buturo is a frequent and vocal critic of homosexuality. In response to U.S. press guidance describing the bill as "a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda," Buturo told local journalists on October 29 that international donors "should mind their own business." Quoted by the Associated Press, Buturo said: "We are really getting tired of this phrase 'human rights'. It is being abused." -------------- The "Anti-Human Rights" Bill -------------- ¶7. (U) An October 23 statement by a coalition of 22 local and international human rights NGOs described the legislation as an "anti-human rights" bill and said it "represents one of the most serious attacks to date" on the Ugandan Constitution. "In short," reads the joint statement, "this bill targets everybody, and involves everybody; it cannot be implemented without making every citizen spy on his or her neighbors. The last time this was done was in the [Idi] Amin era, where everyone very quickly became an 'enemy of the state'. It amounts to a direct invasion of our homes, and will promote blackmail, false accusations, and outright intimidation of certain members of the population." ¶8. (U) The NGO coalition also published full-page advertisements condemning the bill in Uganda's leading newspapers. The coalition has noted that the legislation violates at least eight articles of the Ugandan Constitution as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the KAMPALA 00001271 002 OF 002 Child, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. ¶9. (SBU) One local NGO coalition member, Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG),told PolOff on October 23 that the draft legislation was already adversely impacting gay and lesbian Ugandans by subjecting them to increased stigmatization. SMUG said its members would likely be forced to seek asylum abroad if the bill becomes law. Just days after Bahati introduced the bill, Uganda's main opposition newspaper published a cartoon depicting gay and lesbian Ugandans running for the gates of foreign embassies in Kampala. -------------- Museveni: No War with Homosexuals -------------- ¶10. (SBU) During an October 24 meeting with Assistant Secretary Carson, President Museveni said Uganda is not interested in a "war with homosexuals" and agreed that the proposed legislation goes "too far." After learning that the bill was submitted to Parliament by a member of his own party, Museveni said he would discourage the legislation (septel). -------------- Comment: Preventing Legalized Persecution -------------- ¶11. (SBU) In December 2008 the High Court ruled that the Ugandan government violated the rights of a SMUG member by raiding his home without a warrant. In its decision, the Court affirmed that constitutional rights apply to all Ugandans, regardless of sexual orientation (ref. A). Bahati's legislation seeks to undo the High Court's ruling by legalizing the persecution of gays and lesbians. Ugandan society is strongly opposed to homosexuality and homosexuals are regularly subjected to intimidation and harassment (ref. B). On November 2, a leading Ugandan human rights activist told us it is difficult for traditional local human rights organizations to take a public stand against the bill for fear of losing public support. Even with strong private and public statements of condemnation by human rights NGOs and the international donor community, Bahati's bill stands a reasonable chance of passing unless President Museveni himself intervenes. We will continue to urge Ugandan authorities to ensure the protection of human rights by opposing this legislation.