On 7 May 2021, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) condemned the 2019 Sexual Offenses Bill, adopted by the Parliament of Uganda, as it violated international human rights law by attempting to criminalize consensual same- gender sexual acts between adults.
PGA takes positive note of the decision by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on 3 August 2021 to return the Bill to the Parliament for reconsideration. The decision is based on the fact that: (i) several provisions of the 2019 Sexual Offenses Bill are already included in the existing Ugandan Penal Code and (ii) the amendment process should be carried out through “a comprehensive review of all criminal related laws”, in the process already commenced by the Uganda Law Reform Commission that has never been finalised.
The Bill attempts to re-introduce clauses of the impugned 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act that has already been successfully challenged and overturned by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that lawmakers adopted the Bill without the requisite quorum and bypassed the required approval of the relevant Committee, which was chaired by a distinguished Member of PGA.
As such, while welcoming the pragmatic decision by President Museveni not to sign the law, PGA firmly reaffirms that international human rights law lays down obligations which States are bound to respect. By becoming parties to international treaties, States assume obligations and duties under International Law to respect, protect and fulfill human rights. Non-discrimination and equal treatment cuts across all international human rights law, including the Articles 1, 2 and 7 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Therefore, the Bill should not be promulgated, most importantly, on account of its incompatibility with Article 21 on the Right to Equality and Non-discrimination to all Ugandans as stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic as well as Uganda’s international commitments to human rights.
I am steadfast in my objections to the criminalisation of consensual sexual intercourse between adults by whatever gender described. It is not only the individuals concerned that suffer - such discriminatory provisions have also a far-reaching impact on the society as a whole. While I have been deeply saddened and concerned that this Bill, containing so many human rights retrogressing provisions has passed in my country, the President’s refusal to assent to the Bill has given me hope that the respect for human rights ultimately prevails in my country. Hon. Fox Odoi-Oywelowo, MP and Chair of the Human Rights Committee (Uganda), PGA member
PGA therefore calls on the President to take into account the conflict of these provisions with Uganda’s international human rights commitments and refuse to assent to the Bill, should it be re-introduced without the removal of the discriminatory provisions. PGA also calls on Members of the Parliament to refrain from re-introducing the Bill in the next legislatures and underscores their duty to represent and respect the human rights of all members of their constituencies, including LGBT people.
