Uganda Legislates Extermination of LGBTQ People

New York, New York - 29 May 2023 - Outright International condemns the signing into law of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. Unlike the colonial-era laws that banned same-sex activity, this law goes much further.

Perpetrators of violence and other forms of hate crimes were already emboldened before the law's passing as we were already inundated with reports of violence and intimidation. This law can only make LGBTQ people vulnerable to another wave of persecution.  

Ugandan feminist, LGBTQ activist and recipient of multiple awards, Kasha Jacqueline, ​​commented: “As a Ugandan human rights defender I find it absurd to hear leaders promote hate and exclusion as African values. The threats and violence our communities are facing are already horrifying. The passing of this law makes the situation even worse. A legal challenge has already been filed, and we won’t stop until this law is overturned.”

Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin says this law's ideology is nothing short of genocidal. 

“The new Ugandan law is based on a genocidal ideology aimed at eradicating LGBTQ people from public existence. We call on Uganda to honor its international commitments and respect the human rights of everyone, including LGBTQ people, as no one should be denied these rights based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Sjödin said, adding that while many countries, including India (2018), several Caribbean states, and Singapore (2022) have made progress in recent years and abandoned the colonial-era laws criminalizing same-sex relations, some countries, like Russia and now Uganda, have passed laws that severely limit human rights for LGBTQ people. 

This draconian law has attracted international condemnation as possibly the worst anti-LGBTQ law anywhere in the world, imposing the death penalty for some forms of consensual same-sex conduct. And we reiterate that this is a horrible law for Ugandans, for their allies. It's also horrific for anybody in the nonprofit sector, the corporate sector, and the humanitarian sector working in Uganda who respects the fundamental human rights of LGBTQ people.