FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5 May 2021
Media Contact: Daina Ruduša, commsteam@outrightinternational.org, +1 (917) 622-1865
Parliament of Uganda Passes “Sexual Offences Bill” Enhancing Criminalization of Same-Sex Relations
On Monday, May 3, 2021, the Parliament of Uganda passed the Sexual Offences Bill 2019. Purportedly the Bill aims to prevent sexual violence, enhance punishment against sexual offenders and provide additional protection for victims. However, it also reinforces and reiterates a ban on same-sex relations codified in the country's Penal Code.
Same-sex relations have been criminalized in Uganda since British colonial times in sections 145 on “unnatural offenses” and 148 on “indecent practices” of the Penal Code, with a maximum sentence of life in prison foreseen. Clause 11 of the Sexual Offences Bill further confirms this existing criminalization.
Executive Director of OutRight Action International, Jessica Stern, comments:
“Same-sex relations are already criminalized in Uganda's Penal Code. The inclusion of same-sex relations in this Bill paints LGBTQ people as sexual offenders, and can only serve one purpose - to fuel already rampant LGBTQ-phobia, discrimination, and violence. It is deplorable. The colonial legacy of criminalizing same-sex relations must end.”
Sexual Minorities Uganda, a network of LGBTQ organizations in Uganda, stated:
"The Bill will enhance the already homophobic environment in Uganda and lead the way for further violation of the rights of sexual and gender minorities, including violations such as "corrective rape" and other acts of violence. Clause 11 also goes against the very essence of the Bill to protect Ugandans from sexual violence."
The bill will now be presented before the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, for his assent into law. President Museveni has publicly expressed anti-LGBTQ views, most recently in the run up to the general election in January 2021, blaming pre-election violence on foreign LGBTQ groups.
The Sexual Offences Bill is not the first effort to enhance the criminalization of same-sex relations in Uganda. The so-called “Anti-Homosexuality Act,” which foresaw imposition of the death penalty for same-sex relations, was passed by the parliament in 2013 and signed into law by President Museveni in early 2014. It was invalidated by the Constitutional Court of Uganda on procedural grounds the same year.
Notes to editors:
For more information about the context facing LGBTQ people in Uganda, see here.
Read the full statement and call to action from Sexual Minorities Uganda here.
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OutRight Action International works at a global, regional and national level to eradicate the persecution, inequality, and violence lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people face around the world. From its offices in 7 countries and headquarters in New York, OutRight builds capacity of LGBTIQ movements, documents human rights violations, advocates for inclusion and equality, and holds leaders accountable for protecting the rights of LGBTIQ people everywhere. OutRight has recognized consultative status at the United Nations.