Summary:

• Ugandan activists are challenging the harsh Anti-Homosexuality Act in court, arguing it violates fundamental rights, including freedom from discrimination, as the country grapples with a rise in anti-LGBT discrimination since the law’s introduction.

Human rights activists, journalists, religious leaders, academics, and lawyers in Uganda are presently contesting the legality of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which took effect in May, within the court system. As the case advances to its conclusive pretrial phase today, it is poised to proceed to trial soon.

Regarded as one of the most severe anti-LGBT laws globally, the Anti-Homosexuality Act prescribes the death penalty for “serial offenders” and individuals engaged in same-sex relations with persons with disabilities, minors, or those of advanced age, categorizing such acts as “aggravated homosexuality.” Furthermore, the legislation criminalizes the loosely defined “promotion of homosexuality,” exposing anyone advocating for the rights of LGBT individuals, including representatives of human rights organizations or those supporting such organizations financially, to imprisonment for up to 20 years.

The petitioners challenging the law assert that it infringes upon fundamental rights enshrined in Uganda’s constitution, including freedom from discrimination and rights to privacy, as well as freedom of thought, conscience, and belief. Additionally, they argue that the Anti-Homosexuality Act violates Uganda’s commitments under international human rights law, including provisions in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Convention Against Torture, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Since the introduction of the law as a bill in parliament in March, local organizations have documented an increase in anti-LGBT discrimination. In September, the Strategic Response Team, a coalition of Ugandan LGBT rights organizations, reported heightened levels of “violence and discrimination,” including physical and psychological abuse, evictions, blackmail, loss of employment, and denial of access to healthcare based on perceived or actual sexual orientation.

While the Constitutional Court of Uganda nullified the 2013 Anti-Homosexuality Act in August 2014 on procedural grounds, it has not yet ruled any law “discriminatory” based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In contrast, some other African countries, such as South Africa, Angola, Botswana, and Mauritius, have abolished laws criminalizing consensual same-sex conduct on human rights grounds.

Given Uganda’s domestic and international human rights obligations, and considering these significant regional legal precedents, prioritizing the protection of the fundamental rights of all Ugandans should be at the forefront of the court’s consideration in addressing this challenge to the Anti-Homosexuality Act.