Uganda signs anti-LGBTQ bill into law

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed new anti-LGBTQ legislation on Monday.

Museveni "has assented to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023. It now becomes the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023," the Ugandan presidency said on Twitter.

Uganda's 'Anti-Homosexuality Act'

Uganda's head of state had called on lawmakers to amend the bill, and a new draft of the legislation was presented earlier this month.

The amended version clarifies that merely identifying as gay would not be cause for imprisonment.

Museveni had also advised lawmakers to remove a provision that made "aggravated homosexuality" subject to capital punishment, but this suggestion was rejected by Uganda's parliament. The provision pertains to repeat offenders and those found to have had sex while HIV-positive.

Uganda has not carried out capital punishment in many years.

Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda under a law that dates back to the British colonial period.

The new law introduces a 20-year sentence for "promoting" homosexuality.

"With a lot of humility, I thank my colleagues the Members of Parliament for withstanding all the pressure from bullies and doomsday conspiracy theorists in the interest of our country," parliament speaker Anita Among said.

Law draws international condemnation

The new law has been widely condemned by rights groups and Western countries.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the UN's HIV/AIDS program and the US AIDS relief program all expressed concern over the harmful impact of the newly signed law.

Amnesty International said that the law "flagrantly violates the human rights of LGBTI people in Uganda, including the right to a private life, protection against discrimination and the right to equal protection before the law."

Ugandan authorities have also recognized the possibility that the new law will lead to the imposition of international sanctions.

When Museveni signed a less restrictive anti-LGBTQ law in 2014, Western governments suspended some aid, reduced security cooperation with Uganda and imposed stronger visa restrictions on its citizens.