Homosexuality is framed as

a distinctly un-African
phenomenon in the
discourse that seeks to
justify discriminatory laws
against LGBT people. It is
argued that homosexuality is
not only
rare in Africa, but that it is
an imposition from decadent
Western societie
Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, passed in parliament on March 21, 2023, will be
the world’s worst, most draconian anti-LGBTQ legislation, if enacted into law.
President Museveni has 30 days to decide whether to assent to the law. Ugandan and
international businesses, humanitarian organizations and development partners should
use their influence to staunchly oppose the bill.
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Enactment of the law would class Uganda alongside only six countries that shock the
world’s conscience by prescribing the death penalty for consensual same-sex
intimacy. While parliament removed a draft provision that criminalized “holding out
as” a lesbian, gay, transgender or queer person, the version it passed effectively
renders existence as an LGBTQ person in Uganda impossible: it will no longer be
possible for queer people to rent homes or to access affirming health care services.
But beyond its full-frontal attack on LGBTQ people, the law is unique in its breadth,
potentially criminalizing large swaths of the Ugandan population, as well as
foreigners residing in Uganda – regardless of their sexual orientation or gender
identity.
The most far-reaching provision is Article 15, the “duty to report acts of
homosexuality.” Under this provision, everyone in Uganda - regardless of nationality
- faces six months in prison if they fail to report to the police any person of whom
they have “a reasonable suspicion that a person has committed or intends to commit”
either acts of homosexuality or any other offense under the law.

Medical practitioners, including those employed by foreign-funded development

schemes such as PEPFAR, must report their patients, or face prison time. Parents
must report their children. Teachers must report their students. Clergy members must
report their parishioners. Refugee services must report queer asylum seekers.
Employees of humanitarian organizations or multinational corporations must report
their co-workers – knowing that in doing so, they could be subjecting them to life
imprisonment or the death penalty, which is to be meted out as punishment for some
consensual same-sex acts under Article 3 of the Bill. Open for Business, a coalition of
global companies, pointed out, in a March 28 statement and letter to President
Museveni that the bill would “put Ugandan employers in an untenable and
unconscionable position regarding treatment of LGBTQ+ employees.”

Medical practitioners, including those employed by foreign-funded development

schemes such as PEPFAR, must report their patients, or face prison time. Parents
must report their children. Teachers must report their students. Clergy members must
report their parishioners. Refugee services must report queer asylum seekers.
Employees of humanitarian organizations or multinational corporations must report
their co-workers – knowing that in doing so, they could be subjecting them to life
imprisonment or the death penalty, which is to be meted out as punishment for some
consensual same-sex acts under Article 3 of the Bill. Open for Business, a coalition of
global companies, pointed out, in a March 28 statement and letter to President
Museveni that the bill would “put Ugandan employers in an untenable and
unconscionable position regarding treatment of LGBTQ+ employees.” The law
criminalizes, under Article 11, the “promotion” of homosexuality. Individuals who
operate non-profit organizations, and development partners who fund health and
human rights work in Uganda, are held personally criminally liable not only for
“promoting” but also for “normalizing” homosexuality. Decades of progress in the
HIV prevention sector hang in the balance, since best practices on tackling HIV by
reducing stigma toward key populations, including men who have sex with men and
trans people, will be illegal. The law prohibits anyone from encouraging
homosexuality through “the use of a computer, information system, or the internet.”
Online HIV prevention efforts that encourage same-sex couples to practice safer sex
might be illegal; so would the action of an individual sending a congratulatory email
message to friends abroad who are celebrating a same-sex marriage. A prohibition of
providing “in-kind” support includes the distribution of lubricants or other products
that may benefit LGBTQ people.

Many major international development and humanitarian organizations operating in

Uganda, carrying out life-saving work in areas such as food insecurity and climate
change, have robust equity and inclusion policies that refer to sexual orientation and
gender identity. Their country directors could face up to 20 years in prison for
operating organizations that “normalize” homosexuality. These organizations’
licenses could also be suspended or revoked.

The law further criminalizes landlords who rent premises to LGBTQ individuals: if
they knowingly fail to evict tenants who are engaging in or “encouraging”
homosexuality, they, too, face 20 years in prison. Hotels that rent rooms to same-sex
couples, including major international hotel chains whose global policies prohibit
discrimination, could be liable under this provision.

When the “promotion” provision is read in conjunction with the “duty to report”
provision, everyone on Ugandan soil becomes a de facto spy for the state and must
not only report persons engaged in same-sex acts; they must also report queer
people’s allies, friends, and family members that “encourage” homosexuality,
organizations that “normalize” homosexuality, and hotels and landlords that rent
rooms to same-sex couples.

Far beyond simply banning same-sex acts, the law turns nearly everyone in Uganda
into a potential criminal.

Development partners who support the Ugandan government in nearly any sector -
governance, health, education, housing, livelihoods - should be aware of the
heightened risk that their funds will be used to discriminate against and persecute
LGBTQ people, including under Article 12, which implicates social and welfare
officers in subjecting persons convicted under the law to forced conversion therapy
practices, which cause incalculable harm.

Humanitarian organizations, development partners, and multinational corporations

should not fall into the trap of believing that this odious law does not affect them, or
that they will be able to conduct “business as usual” if the law is passed. They should
vociferously oppose the law, which, if enacted, will compel their complicity in gross
and unprecedented human rights violations.