On 23-25 July, PGA participated in the 4th Annual Regional Human Rights Activists Forum, organized by the Southern Africa Litigation Center and GALZ, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Representatives of civil society organizations from Sub-Saharan Africa gathered to discuss challenges and opportunities to advance inclusion and equality of LGBTQI+ persons.
PGA led a panel on "The Anti-rights movement and its impact on human rights and democracy" with the participation of member Hon. Fox Odoi, Chair of the Human Rights Committee in the Parliament of Uganda. Hon. Odoi explained how the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 was adopted and expanded on efforts carried-out in and out of the courts to counter the harmful rhetoric of the anti-rights movement, including the use of a human rights-based approach to LGBTQI+ inclusion.
In her remarks, Melissa Verpile, PGA Director of the Democracy, Gender and Inclusion Program, explained that State and non-State illiberal actors are pushing anti-rights narratives that are fueling different forms of discriminatory practices. The targets of these practices are individuals who are already vulnerable, including women and children, LGBTQI+ persons, indigenous persons, human rights defenders, and increasingly, legislators championing human rights. These trends are part of a wider erosion of democratic institutions and principles.
Attacks on LGBTQI+ rights are so worrisome that the World Bank’s Gender Strategy 2024 – 2030: Accelerate Gender Equality to End Poverty on a Livable Planet, consider that
The world is experiencing an unprecedented set of crises with disproportionately negative impacts on women, girls, sexual and gender minorities, and marginalized groups. Gender equality is a matter of fairness and justice, a foundation for a peaceful and prosperous world and essential for development. Yet achieving gender equality is uniquely challenging and complex. It calls for changes spanning country laws and policies, public and private sector activities, and personal lives. Growing evidence on the wide-ranging negative impacts of gender constraints, and on how to address them, can inspire and inform the way forward.
What can parliamentarians do?
- Legislators play an essential role given their representative, legislative and oversight prerogatives in countering these trends rooted in populist authoritarianism.
- Provide counter narratives and contribute to changing the hearts and minds of their constituents and colleagues through dialogue.
- Draft and approve evidence-based legislation and public policy.
- Bridge existing gaps with local CSOs and activists.
- Build alliances, coalitions and partnerships to ensure coordinated action, including with the private sector.
- Provide funding to domestic pro-rights groups and programs.
- Engage with constituencies on LGBTQI+ inclusion and equality and the impact of such inclusion on education, health, economic sustainability, and democracy.
PGA will continue working with its members to ensure equal rights for LGBTQI+ persons become a reality.
