Det skal være en “julegave” til landets befolkning – kun et veto fra præsidenten kan forhindre loven – forude venter international fordømmelse og mulige beskæringer i udviklingsbistanden, også fra dansk side.
Uganda will pass a new law against homosexuality by the end of 2012 as a “Christmas gift” to its advocates, the speaker of parliament has said, according to BBC online Tuesday.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda, but the bill which is before parliament, proposes jail terms for homosexual acts, including a life sentence in certain circumstances.
It prohibits (forbyder) the “promotion” of gay rights and calls for the punishment of anyone who “funds or sponsors homosexuality” or “abets (tilskynder til) homosexuality”.
But a clause which calls for the death penalty against people found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality” – defined as when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a “serial offender” – is to be dropped.
International donors have threatened to cut off aid to Uganda if the East african country does not do more to protect the rights of gay people.
The Speaker, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, said she hoped the bill, first tabled in 2009 and now before a parliamentary committee, would be passed by the end of the year.
“Ugandans want that law as a Christmas gift. They have asked for it and we will give them that gift,” Ms Kadaga is quoted as saying.
Vil forbyde 38 NGOer
In June, Uganda’s Minister for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo said 38 non-governmental organisations which he accused of promoting homosexuality would be banned.
Clare Byarugaba, the co-ordinator of Uganda’s Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said the group would challenge the law in the constitutional court.
