Uganda: A report by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change (IJSC) has found that the UK government has been indirectly funding an anti-LGBTQ+ organisation in Uganda that backs a proposed law that criminalises being gay.
The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU), an inter-faith organisation, is a direct recipient of UK aid money as an “implementing partner” of a program aimed at promoting an open society in Uganda.
In February 2023, the IRCU, including the Church of Uganda and several evangelical churches, signed a statement expressing concern over “the growing spread of homosexuality” in Uganda and the effect of “the LGBTQ agenda” on the wellbeing of children.
Two weeks later, the anti-homosexuality bill 2023 was introduced into parliament. In March 2023, the bill passed with 387 out of 389 MPs voting in favour.
The law imposes capital and life-imprisonment sentences for gay sex, up to 14 years for “attempted” homosexuality, and 20 years in jail for “recruitment, promotion, and funding” of same-sex “activities”.
Anyone who identifies as “a lesbian, gay, transgender, queer, or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female”, could be given a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
The report, which analysed official data given to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), found a significant number of links between anti-LGBTQ+ organisations in Uganda and international aid donors, including the UK.
The proposed law has been condemned by the UN human rights chief, Mr. Volker Türk, as “probably among the worst of its kind in the world”. The bill is currently in limbo after President Mr. Yoweri Museveni declined to sign it into law and requested that the parliament take another look.
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