The South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law and the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria invite you to an online seminar titled ‘The Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill – does it Constitute an International Crime?’
This seminar is organised on the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biophobia.
Date: 17 May 2023
Time: 16h30 – 18h00 (South African time – GMT plus 2)
Venue: Zoom Meeting – please RSVP for link
Please RSVP to naomi@saifac.org.za
Panelist
- Mr. Geoffrey Ogwaro
Advocacy and Policy Engagement Programme Officer, Uganda Key Populations Consortium - Dr. Ayo Sogunro
Sexual Rights Lawyer, Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa - Ms. Laura (Cori) Arudi
Programmes Officer, Network of African National Human Rights Institutes - Mr. Landilani Banda
Manager – SOGIESC, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Description:
On 9 March 2023, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced to the parliament of Uganda. The Bill is a revised, and more egregious, version of the 2014 Anti‑Homosexuality Act, which was struck down in court on procedural grounds. The Bill is awaiting the signature of President Museveni into law - which human rights activists across the world hope will not happen. The Bill involves serious violations of the fundamental rights of LGBTQ Ugandans including: outlawing the identification as LGBTQ rather than any particular actions, creating a sentence of life imprisonment for homosexuality and the death penalty for so-called ‘aggravated homosexuality’. In seeking to outlaw mere identification as LGBTQ, and remove individuals from society permanently, the law ultimately seeks to eradicate individuals and an identifiable group from society. As such, it could be argued to reach the level of seriousness to constitute a potential international crime such as genocide and/or a crime against humanity.
Against this background, the panellists will consider a number of general questions concerning the Bill and its possible consequences, including:
- What impact is the Bill anticipated, if passed, to have on the human rights of the LGBTQ community in Uganda, including the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association, non-discrimination, health and self-identification?
- What led the Ugandan parliament to pass such a terrible law?
- Could parliamentarians (and the President if he signs it into law) be charged with the commission of an international crime for passing such a law?
- What response or other actions can and should the international community take in order to ensure the rights of LGBTQ people in Uganda are protected?
- What can and should the South African government do, given the non-discrimination provisions in South Africa’s Constitution, to protest this bill?
Please note that there are limited spaces on Zoom, and you are encouraged to RSVP at your earliest convenience
