Ugandan Anti-Gay Legislation - Features of Human Rights

Several African countries to this day outlaw homosexuality, while some are even to the same extent as the middle east in terms of criminalization of homosexuality, I'll be focusing on Uganda specifically today. Uganda is particularly problematic because their anti-gay bill was passed as recently as February 2014. There are two types of crimes defined under "gay acts", aggravated homosexuality and the offense of homosexuality. The former is defined as an act of homosexuality where the person who engaged in gay sexual activity is HIV-positive, or a minor, or disabled. The latter is a lot vaguer and spread out, it incriminates those who both recognize and support homosexuality, as well as those who attempt to engage in it. The punishment of which is 10-14 years in prison, with repeat offenders getting life in prison. The punishment for aggravated homosexuality was the death penalty, leading to the bill being known as the 'Kill the Gays' bill.

Luckily, the bill only passed for 6 months, being declared "null and void" on the first of August that year. According to Neela Ghoshal, Senior Researcher for the Human Rights Watch, the ruling of the judge could just end up being temporary, potentially just a mask for the bill to be quietly passed legally later in Parliament. 

This is far from the first anti-gay law in Uganda, the most notable example were the 1950 anti-sodomy laws, stating that any person who "has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature", the punishment for which being 7 years in prison. The 2014 bill expanded significantly on that with not only harsher punishments but also significantly more crimes, such as "conspiracy to commit homosexuality," and "aiding and abetting homosexuality". Every single act defined in the bill, from activists encouraging people to come out, to offering your "moveable assets for purposes of homosexuality" was all to be punished by 14 years in prison, if you wanted to have gay sex multiple times, you better get ready to be put in prison for your whole life, the same sentence as (certain cases of) murder, human trafficking, and manslaughter in Uganda.

Sources:
https://www.vox.com/2018/7/11/17562412/ugandas-anti-gay-legislation-explained

https://www.loc.gov/law/help/sentencing-guidelines/uganda.php

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