Uganda
Constitutional Court of Uganda Strikes down Anti-Homosexuality Act
London, 4 August 2014
On 1 August 2014, the Constitutional Court of Uganda struck down the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014 as null and void following the failure of the Parliament of Uganda to observe the constitutional quoracy requirement during the legislation’s passage. The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has welcomed the decision of the Court which strikes from the statute book legislation which violated a number of fundamental human rights and which further entrenched the profound discrimination and gross inequality suffered by LGBT people in Uganda.
For Fifth Time, ERT Urges Ugandan President not to Sign Anti-Homosexuality Bill
London, 17 February 2014
The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has today repeated, for the fifth time, its call to the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, not to sign the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (the Bill) into law. On Friday 14 February, the President announced that he would sign the Bill, which makes same-sex sexual conduct punishable by up to fourteen years’ imprisonment and creates a number of new offences.
Homophobic Bill in Uganda is Unconstitutional and in Breach of International Law
London, 21 January 2014
Following its recent approval by the Parliament of Uganda, The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has repeated its call to the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, not to sign the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. After writing to the President during the Bill’s passage through Parliament criticising the legislation, ERT has again written to President Museveni, urging him to exercise his power under Article 91 of the Constitution of Uganda not to assent to the Bill. Recent reports have emerged that the President has indicated his intention not to do so, criticising the manner in which the Bill was passed.
Homosexuals Face Life Imprisonment if Ugandan Bill Signed into Law
London, 23 December 2013
On 20 December 2013, the Ugandan Parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, after it was unexpectedly scheduled for a vote when the majority of MPs were not present. The Bill, which makes same-sex sexual conduct an offence punishable by life imprisonment, was passed in Parliament despite Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi expressing concern that there was not a quorum. The news is the latest blow for the equality of all regardless of sexual orientation around the globe, and demonstrates the level of discrimination and prejudice faced by homosexuals in Uganda.
ERT Letter to Uganda The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2012
This is the covering letter sent with ERT's 2013 resubmission of its 2009 legal brief submitted to Ugandan President Yowere Museveni outlining how adoption of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would breach both Uganda?s Constitution and its international treaty obligations.
ERT Urges Ugandan President to Intervene to Prevent Adoption of Anti-Homosexuality Bill
London, 11 January 2012
ERT Legal Brief on the Ugandan Anti-homosexuality Bill 2009
Excerpts from the ERT Legal Brief on the Ugandan Anti-homosexuality Bill 2009.
Sylvia Tamale: A Human Rights Impact Assessment of the Ugandan Anti-homosexuality Bill 2009, The Equal Rights Review, Volume Four, 2010, pp. 49 - 57.
On 14 October 2009, the Anti-homosexuality Bill was introduced before the parliament of Uganda. The Bill received international criticism from human rights organisations and states alike. If passed, the Anti-homosexuality Bill would legitimise, institutionalise, increase and perpetuate the profound discrimination and gross inequality suffered by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Uganda today.
ERT legal brief on Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill
The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has submitted a legal brief to Ugandan President Yowere Museveni outlining how adoption of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill currently being debated would breach both Uganda’s Constitution and its international treaty obligations.
ERT’s submission calls on President Museveni and Ugandan parliamentarians to reject the Bill in its entirety, and to review the constitutionality of section 145 of the Ugandan Penal Code, which is currently used to prosecute homosexual conduct.
