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Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill: Will the US Evangelical Movement Speak Out for Human Rights?

**News Briefing Invitation**

12/09/2009

For Immediate Release: December 9, 2009
Media contact: Scott Long (English): +1-212-216-1297 (in New York)

Human Rights Watch, ARC International, COC Netherlands, Global Advocates for Trans Equality, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Political Research Associates, and Unitarian Universalists UNO are pleased to invite you to a news briefing on Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 10:30 a.m.

On October 14, 2009, a so-called "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" was introduced in Uganda's parliament. This bill would:

  • Imprison for life anyone convicted of "the offense of homosexuality";
  • Punish "aggravated homosexuality" – including repeat offenders, or anyone who is HIV positive and has gay sex – with the death penalty;
  • Forbid the "promotion of homosexuality," and jail rights defenders who work on LGBT rights;
  • Imprison anyone for up to three years if they fail to report within 24 hours anyone they know who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or who supports their human rights.

The bill comes after years of growing anti-gay repression in Uganda, some of it funded by US anti-AIDS programs, and promoted by some US religious organizations. This spring, certain US religious leaders visited Uganda, holding seminars to condemn homosexuality and promote "ex-gay" theories that LGBT people's sexualities can be forcibly changed. They made headlines, spoke at rallies, and lobbied Uganda's lawmakers.

The "anti-gay" bill would be a devastating blow to human rights and effective HIV prevention. On December 10, International Human Rights Day, this panel will feature a new report on the role of US preachers and politicians in spreading homophobia in Africa. Will these leaders now speak out against violations of human rights?

What:
  • Briefing on the situation in Uganda, including:
    • News from a distinguished Ugandan activist on the mounting persecution of LGBT people there, and the role of US evangelists in promoting homophobia
    • New information on how the US has become a major source of homophobic rhetoric across Africa

Who:

  • Speakers for the event include:
    • Kapya Kaoma (Zambia), doctoral candidate in theology, author of the Political Research Associates report Globalizing the Culture Wars: US Conservatives, African Churches, and Homophobia, on how US forces have promoting an agenda that criminalizes homosexuality in Africa.
    • Victor Mukasa (Uganda), Africa Program Associate for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, former chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
    • Moderator: Scott Long, director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program, Human Rights Watch

When:

  • Thursday, December 10, 2009 10:30 AM

Where:

  • The Community Church of New York (Assembly Hall downstairs)
    40 East 35th Street/Park Avenue
    New York, NY 10016

For more of Human Rights Watch's work on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, please visit: http://www.hrw.org/en/category/topic/lgbt-rights

To RSVP, please contact: lgbt@hrw.org

For more information, please contact: In New York, Scott Long (English): +1-212-216-1297