Uganda proposed a new law against the LGBTQ+ community. First it was only illegal to engage in relations with the same gender. With this new law they are planning to expand this also to promoting and inciting homosexuality. Offenses can result in enormous punishments like a life sentence to prison for having sex with someone of the same gender. If someone has sex with someone of the same gender and that person is under the 18, or if the person is HIV-positive, the death penalty can be applied. It is not the first anti-gay law that is being adopted in Uganda. In 2014 president Yoweri Museveni signed a law that could result in a lifetime sentence for people who repeatedly engage in homosexual activities.
The Ugandan defense about this new law are firstly that it is needed in order to punish a broader grouping of the LGBTQ+ people. They say that this group is a threat to their traditional values in the conservative and religious nation. Lawmaker David Bahati said the following things about the new law: “Our creator God is happy (about) what is happening… I support the bill to protect the future of our children.” And: “This is about the sovereignty of our nation, nobody should blackmail us, nobody should intimidate us.” Now it is waiting for president Museveni to sign it into the law.
In a lot of other countries the new law is being seen as a huge violation of the human rights. And countries such as The Netherlands have already said that if the Ugandan government continues with this anti-gay law, it will have major consequences for Dutch aid to the country. Also the High Commissioner for human rights from the UN and the United States have expressed their concerns about the Ugandan law. And the United States are looking for economic sanctions.
So, it brings some difficulties. The Uganda people want the rest of the world to respect their culture and values. And on the other hand there are a lot of countries and organizations who found this law very disturbing for the human rights.
In my opinion this is a large step back in time if we think about someone being sentenced to death for loving someone of the same sex. I did not know that the Dutch government has already taken action against Uganda through changing the aid programme, but I do think this is a good thing. I do think that it is a violation of human rights to propose such a law and in my opinion the united nations should get more power to step up against countries establishing laws like this. This in my opinion does not only imply to countries from Africa but also to countries more important to the world economy. The human rights set by all countries…