UNDER SECRETARY OTERO'S MEETING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS AND GLBT ACTIVISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KAMPALA 000073

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/16
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, KDEM, UG
SUBJECT: UNDER SECRETARY OTERO'S MEETING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS AND GLBT
ACTIVISTS

REF: 09 KAMPALA 1365; 09 KAMPALA 1024; 10 KAMPALA 47; 10 KAMPALA 45
10 KAMPALA 55; 09 KAMPALA 1276

DERIVED FROM: DSCG 05-1 B, D

1. (C) Summary: Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs
Maria Otero discussed the anti-homosexuality bill and other human
rights concerns with local activists on January 29. The activists
expressed appreciation for U.S. support and described their own
efforts to combat the bill. Several human rights defenders but not
members of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) community
situated the anti-homosexuality bill within a broader context of
growing state sponsored limitations of human rights and democratic
freedoms in advance of the February 2011 presidential elections,
and urged the U.S. to expand condemnation of the anti-homosexuality
bill to cover other human rights concerns. End Summary



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U.S. Support for GLBT Rights in Uganda

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2. (C) Seven human rights activists participated in a roundtable
discussion with Under Secretary Otero and DRL Deputy Assistant
Secretary Daniel Baer on January 29. Three participants - Val
Kalende, Frank Mugisha, and Julius Kaggwa - belong to Uganda's GLBT
community and are outspoken opponents of anti-homosexuality bill.
Kalende is the Director of Freedom and Roam Uganda, an underground
organization dedicated to defending the rights of lesbian women in
Uganda. Mugisha is the Director of Sexual Minorities of Uganda
(SMUG). Kaggwa directs the Support Initiative for People with
Atypical Sex Development and recently testified on the
anti-homosexuality bill before the Tom Lantos Human Rights
Commission in Washington. Other roundtable participants included
HIV/AIDS activist Major Rubaramira Ruanga, who has publicly
denounced the bill; the Director of the Foundation for Human Rights
Initiative (FHRI),Livingston Ssewanyana, which opposes the bill
but has been hesitant to say so publicly ; Hassan Shire Sheikh, the
Director of East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders
Project,; and Lad Rwakafuzi, the only Ugandan lawyer willing to
openly provide legal services to the GLBT community.



3. (C) Under Secretary Otero and DAS Baer stressed the U.S.
commitment to democracy and human rights, highlighted Secretary
Clinton's recent Georgetown University speech, and said
safeguarding human rights is a central tenet of U.S. foreign
policy. DAS Baer assured participants that the U.S. is committed to
defending universal principles of human rights and will continue to
engage with other nations on human rights-related concerns. Under
Secretary Otero noted that our engagement is intended to produce
not just press headlines but real accomplishments and change, and
invited participants to discuss the impact of the
anti-homosexuality bill and recommendations for preventing its
passage.



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Anti-Homosexuality and Anti-Human Rights

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4. (C) As Uganda's foremost human rights activist, FHRI Director
Ssewanyana placed the anti-homosexuality bill in the context of a
general trend toward restricted human rights and democratic
freedoms in Uganda. He said the anti-homosexuality bill is one of
many regressive legislative initiatives that are not in the
interests of all Ugandans and are intended to tilt the February
2011 presidential elections in the government's favor. Ssewanyana
cited draft legislation to expand the Security Ministry's
monitoring of electronic communications, expanded and perhaps
politically motivated enforcement of the 2002 Anti-Terrorism Act,
the recently passed Land Amendment Act (ref. A),reduced press

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freedoms, and the slow pace of electoral reform as pressing human
rights concerns. He encouraged the U.S. to treat these issues in
the same manner as the anti-homosexuality bill, and said the
anti-homosexuality issue is a government "gimmick" to divert
attention away from other assaults on human rights and democratic
freedoms that will ultimately undermine the integrity of the 2011
elections.



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Local GLBT Views

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5. (C) Julius Kaggwa agreed that threats to human rights in Uganda
are growing, but said the anti-homosexuality bill is the most
regressive legislation yet introduced. Kaggwa described the bill as
a "gag" order to prevent anyone from talking about homosexuals or
acknowledging that sexual minorities are entitled to rights as
human beings. He referred to Ethics Minister Nsaba Buturo's
proclamation that homosexuality is not a human rights issue, and
wondered why the Ugandan government is so intent on targeting such
a small population of individuals. Kaggwa agreed that homosexuality
is the least of Uganda's problems, and said the bill's proponents
are scapegoating homosexuals for political reasons.



6. (C) SMUG Director Mugisha said Uganda's GLBT community has
received considerable support from human rights groups and
diplomatic missions, but that the draft bill is already negatively
impacting homosexuals. Mugisha said threats have increased, and
alleged that some homosexuals have been arrested and detained by
authorities and homophobic extremists eager to build legal cases in
advance of the legislation's ratification. He said state-sponsored
homophobia is filtering down even to low level government officials
in rural areas.



7. (C) Val Kalende said she reads about the anti-homosexuality bill
every day, trying to understand why MP David Bahati would introduce
such a bill. Kalende said Bahati is not trying to protect the
Ugandan heterosexual family or children, as he claims, but to
instill fear and intimidation. She said Members of Parliament who
privately oppose the bill fear losing their seats if they speak out
against the legislation, and therefore support the bill in public
and will vote for it should it ever reach the parliamentary floor.
Kalende said Bahati is blaming homosexuals for the spread HIV/AIDS,
pornography, and increasing incidents of rape and defilement, and
that the legislation is a diversionary ploy intended to steer
attention away from real issues like corruption and the 2011
elections. She noted that the bill is already a political tool, as
some have accused presidential aspirant Olara Otunnu of being gay
(ref. B). NOTE: On February 4, Kalende told PolOff that she is not
aware of any homosexuals who have been arrested by police since the
bill was submitted in October (septel). END NOTE.



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Recommendations for Engagement on Human Rights

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8.(C) Under Secretary Otero asked how local human rights activists
are working to defeat the legislation, what forms of technology
they are using, and what the U.S. can do to support these
initiatives. Kaggwa said rallying local voices against the bill is
key, and that a coalition of more than 20 local NGOs is using
public dialogues, media outreach, and publications to discredit the
rhetoric of the bill's proponents, translate the bill into layman's
terms, and raise awareness of how the legislation will impact not
only homosexuals but all aspects of Ugandan society. In December,
the coalition published a professionally produced booklet on the
bill, complete with press clips from local and international media;
statements of condemnation by Secretary Clinton, Rick Warren, and
others; and transcripts from the Rachel Maddow show. Kaggwa noted

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that even parents who wish their children were not gay do not want
them to be executed, and that most Ugandans support the bill
because they wrongly believe the legislation will impact only
homosexuals.



9.(C) Both Kaggwa and Mugisha said local GLBT activists are using
cellphones, blogs, and the internet to the extent possible, but
stressed concerns about government monitoring of electronic
communications. Kaggwa said one local human rights NGO had to
switch its domain name after someone hacked its email address, and
Mugisha and Kalende said they and other activists have been forced
to switch telephones and restrict electronic communications to
avoid harassment and eavesdropping.



10. (C) Retired Major Ruranga thanked the U.S. for standing up for
the right of Ugandan homosexuals to be happy, and attributed
overwhelming domestic homophobia to a general lack of civic
education. He said the Ugandan leaders at the forefront of the
anti-homosexuality bill are using the issue to build populist,
xenophobic support. Ruranga dismissed claims that homosexuality is
an un-African, foreign import, noting that he witnessed
homosexuality among cattle herders as a boy in rural Uganda. He
warned that reporting requirements in the bill will result in
increased HIV/AIDS rates and an explosion of Ugandan LGBT asylum
seekers.



11. (C) Human rights lawyer Rwakfuzi said while international
pressure may block the bill, homophobia in Uganda remains and is
fanned by religious leaders. He said the bill's proponents were
shocked by the level of international condemnation, and urged the
U.S. to apply this kind of direct engagement to other human rights
issues like electoral reforms, press freedoms, the use of torture,
and illegal detention. Hassan Shire Sheikh added that several
governments in East Africa have proposed laws restricting freedoms
of the press, speech, assembly, and minority rights. Sheikh also
hailed Kalende's courage for speaking out publicly against the bill
and remaining in Uganda - despite increasing threats and harassment
- to defend GLBT rights. He recommended that the State Department
dedicate a section of its annual human rights report to the
specific acknowledgement of critical human rights defenders in each
country, as this would increase the legitimacy and visibility of
their work and perhaps also afford some level of protection.



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Comment: Fighting State Sponsored Homophobia

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12. (C) International and particularly American condemnation of the
anti-homosexuality bill has forced Ugandan leaders to reconsider
their initial support for Bahati's legislation. However, Ugandan
officials continue to give conflicting assessments of the bill's
prognosis. Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa said the bill will die a
natural death in Parliament (ref. C). On February 5, Ethics
Minister Buturo said an amended version of the bill - without
provisions on capital punishment - will reach the parliamentary
floor for a vote. President Museveni told the Ambassador the bill
would be scrapped or amended (ref. D),and State Minister for
International Affairs Henry Okello Oryem has said Cabinet wants to
shelve the bill but also find a "win-win" solution acceptable to
all sides (ref. E). Even if draft bill is shelved in the weeks
ahead, rampant homophobia in Uganda won't go away. Local efforts to
deconstruct Uganda's anti-homosexuality movement go well beyond
public condemnation of the anti-homosexuality bill by directly
challenging Uganda's pervasive homophobia. These efforts are worthy
of additional and sustained support.



12. (C) In his meeting in October with Assistant Secretary Carson,
even President Museveni said the anti-homosexuality bill would
"divert us" (ref. F). Local human rights activists fear this is
exactly the point - to divert the Ugandan populace and
international donors during a contentious and competitive election

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year. As the debate over the anti-homosexuality bill extends into
its sixth month, we remain cognizant of Livingstone Ssewanyana's
reminder not let the anti-homosexuality bill obscure other
limitations on human rights and democratic freedoms.
LANIER