LGBT Situation in Africa

Reports that new the anti homosexuality bill could be debated in the Ugandan Parliament last Friday appear to have been false. Nonetheless gay rights remain a very contentious issue in Africa at the moment.

Last year a gay couple in Malawi were sentenced to 14 years in jail for attempting to conduct a gay marriage whilst in March of this year Roger Jean-Claude Mbede was imprisoned for three years in Cameroon for being homosexual.

Seventeen of the nineteen African Commonwealth criminalise sexual practices not thought proper. (South Africa and Rwanda are the only two who do not). Most countries use a variation of the sodomy laws from the colonial era. The typical sodomy law criminalises a man performing an “unnatural act” upon any man or woman, as well as any man or woman that allows a man to perform an “unnatural act” upon them.  An important factor of these provisions is that they negate the possibility of males suffering rape, unless as a minor, making the LGBT population vulnerable. The victims would potentially be criminalised for allowing a man to perform unnatural acts upon them.

Throughout the African members of the Commonwealth Christianity and Islam are prominent religions. Religious texts are clear in the condemnation of those who engage in same sex relations and these religious views have continued to inform the laws on the African homosexual community.

The London office of CHRI are currently doing some great research on LGBT issues throughout the Commonwealth, and are hoping to draft an official report soon. In the meantime we are going to give regular summaries of their research, in particular the legislation directed towards homosexuals. To start off with here is the status in relation to homosexuality in Uganda.

UGANDA

Law that makes Homosexuality illegal The Penal Code Act of 1950 (Chapter 120)[1] Section 145 criminalises carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature or of an animal; or permitting a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature.  Whoever is guilty of this felony is liable to imprisonment for life. Under section 146 any person who attempts to commit any of the offences specified in section 145 commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years. Under section 147 it is an offence to unlawfully and indecently assault a boy under the age of eighteen.  Whoever commits this felony is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years, with or without corporal punishment. Under section 148 it is an offence for any person who, whether in public or in private, commits any act of gross indecency with another person or who procures, or attempts to procure, another person to commit any act of gross indecency with him or her.  Whoever commits this offence is liable to imprisonment for seven years. Under section 123 rape is defined as unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats, intimidation, or false representation. Under section 124 a person convicted of rape is liable to suffer death. Under section 125 any person who attempts to commit rape commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life with or without corporal punishment.

Practical Consequences of the Law SMUG – Sexual Minorities Uganda came together so as to create one big strong LGBT community in Uganda; to provide the LGBT community with organized representation so as to achieve a liberated LGBT community. http://www.sexualminoritiesuganda.org/ In 2010, the Ugandan newspaper The Rolling Stone was guilty of exposing the faces of members of the LGBT community within Uganda. David Kato, a gay activist and the advocacy officer for SMUG was one of three complainants who sought and succeeded in being granted an injunction which had the effect of preventing the newspaper from exposing details such as addresses and names. On Wednesday 26th of January, David was murdered just weeks after his victory in court. It was revealed that for weeks David had been harassed and was threatened on several occasions, being told that he would be dealt with.[2]

Constitutional Clause on Equality or Right to Privacy Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995[3] Article 21 protects equality, whereby all persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law. A person shall not be discriminated against on the ground of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, social or economic standing, political opinion or disability, where ‘discriminate’ is defined as giving different treatment to different persons attributable only or mainly to their respective descriptions by sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, social or economic standing, political opinion or disability. Article 27 protects the right to privacy of person, home and other property, whereby no person shall be subjected to unlawful search of the person, home or other property; unlawful entry by others of the premises of that person; or interference with the privacy of that person’s home, correspondence, communication or other property.

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Secretary General speaks up for The Commonwealth

A couple of weeks ago I questioned what was the point of the Commonwealth if it continually fails to denounce human rights abusers? Well, last week at a meeting with Andrew Mitchell (the United Kingdom’s Secretary for International Development) the Commonwealth Secretary- General, Mr Sharma, spoke up about the achievements of the organisation.

Mr Sharma argued that the Commonwealth had a unique role is promoting dialogue between disparate areas of the globe. He said “The Commonwealth has managed to create convergence and understanding without friction, among and between different societies."

The Secretary-General disputed claims that the organisation is inactive or silent issues and said that most of the Commonwealth’s important work goes on behind the scenes. “We don’t often make headlines, but our work of supporting the strengthening of democratic institutions and rule of law is very important”. He cited the seven years of work undertaken by The Commonwealth in the Maldives which held its first successful multi candidate presidential elections in 2008. The organisation has also been involved in recent election observer missions to Uganda and Nigeria and will be sending a mission to the Seychelles to monitor the forthcoming presidential elections.

The Secretary-General added: “You have to draw a deep breath to measure and evaluate the work the association does, because we don’t operate like a donor agency. We are demand driven and listen to our partners and respond appropriately.”

Whilst I applaud the Commonwealth’s obvious commitments to capacity building and election monitoring, I reiterate my call for the Commonwealth to come out publically when its members show blatant disregard for the human rights of their citizens.

The upbeat appraisal of the Commonwealth given by Mr Sharma is in contradiction to the findings of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (EPG) which conducted a review of the organisation in March of this year. The group concluded that “The Commonwealth is in danger of becoming irrelevant and unconvincing as a values-based association.”

The EPG drew up a list of recommendations to be discussed at the next Commonwealth heads of meeting in Perth, Australia in October.  Among these recommendations the EPG called for a “Charter of the Commonwealth” to be developed by and for Commonwealth citizens, expanding the range of measures available to Commonwealth to better respond where its values are violated and creating a Commissioner on Democracy and the Rule of Law to advise the Secretary-General on serious or persistent breach of Commonwealth core values.

The group also called for a renewed focus on HIV in small Commonwealth states and an expansion in the ‘footprint’ of the Commonwealth by creating incentives for Commonwealth organisations to re-locate out of the UK.

We at CHRI wait with bated breath to if the Commonwealth is willing to take on board the recommendations of the EPG.

Henry Wilkinson, CHRI Advocacy Officer

African Commonwealth Human Rights Weekly Update (07/05 - 13/05/2011)

Sorry its late (Power blackouts in Accra last Friday). It seems like our weekly update on the Human Rights situation in the Commonwealth is a weekly update on the situation in Uganda. For an official CHRI statement on the recent troubles in Uganda click here. Once again Uganda was in the news this week for all the wrong reasons...

Uganda

Tuesday 10/05: Protesters sprayed pink: Protesters attempting to hold a rally in Kampala were broken up by police using dogs and pink paint fired from water cannons.

Spraying distinctive colours on protesters was a tactic employed by security forces in apartheid era South Africa. It is used to brand protesters so they are unable to evade the police when out of the demonstration zone. This tactic was most famously used in the 1989 Purple Rain Protest in Cape Town.

Opposition parties were hoping to hold protest is the Constitutional Square, a place where political demonstrations have been banned since 2007. After the protest Democratic Party leader Norbert Mao was arrested. This follows the three arrests of Kizza Besigye, the leader of the Forum for Democratic Change. For footage of Tuesdays protests and subsequent clampdown click here.

Thursday 12/05: Besigye returns to Uganda as Museveni is sworn in: Besigye timed his return from Kenya (where he was receiving medical treatment on injuries sustained whilst being arrested last month) to coincide with the official swearing in of Museveni for his new term in office. Besigye’s supporters made efforts to embarrass the government and pelted the motorcade of Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathon with stones. In the disturbances at least one of Besigye’s supporters was shot dead by security officials after coming too close to the presidential convoy.

Friday 13/05: Ugandan Parliament to debate homosexual legislation: The Ugandan parliament is to hold a special session on Friday to discuss legislation which proposes increasing the penalties for homosexual acts from 14 years in prison to life.

Ugandan parliament's Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee has recommended passage of the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bil. The anti-homosexuality bill, first drafted in October 2009, had thought to have been shelved in light of international pressure but reappeared in parliament last week. The original bill proposed the death penalty for a new offence of "aggravated homosexuality" (when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a "serial offender"). However MP David Bahati, who proposed the legislation, was quoted as saying that the death penalty "was something we have moved away from". Nonetheless Human Rights Watch  report that the committee recommends retaining it.

On a slightly more positive note, the committee has also recommended that provisions criminalizing "attempted" homosexuality should be removed because such allegations would be very difficult to prove. The committee also recommends scrapping the law that would require anyone knowing of homosexual conduct to report to police within 24 hours as it would create "problems especially to professionals whose ethics include confidentiality in order to be able to carry out their functions like Doctors, Lawyers and Counselors." (Human Rights Watch)

LGBT groups argue that the bill is being proposed now as it allows president Museveni to divert attention of Ugandans away from the growing strength of the protests under Kizza Besigye and tap into widespread anti-homosexual sentiment in the country to boost his own position. For in interesting insight into the bill see the Daily Maverick.

Nigeria

Monday 09/05: Allegations of Electoral Fraud: Tony Momoh the chairman of Nigeria’s main opposition party The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), filed a law suit in Abuja after he alleged widescale fraud in the country’s presidential elections in April

He said, "We have detailed election malpractices in the south-south, south-east, some states in the south-west geopolitical zones and even some states in the north"

The CPC wants elections to be rerun in several southern areas, which voted overwhelmingly for the returned President, Goodluck Jonathan. On Saturday a Christian village was attacked in the predominantly Muslim north in what is believed to be a spill over from the post election violence of late April.

CHRI Statement

CHRI OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON PROTESTS IN UGANDA, SWAZILAND AND MOZAMBIQUE

Issued 10/05/2011

As the world focuses its attention on oil rich North Africa and the Middle East, a wave of police brutality within sub-Saharan African states of the Commonwealth has gone largely unnoticed and unpunished. Uganda, Swaziland and Mozambique have seen a wave of protests. But little attention has been paid to the uniformly brutal way in which they are being dealt with. These are all Commonwealth countries. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) strongly condemns the routine use of intimidation, beatings, illegal detention, torture and excessive use of force being used within these countries to curb legitimate expressions of dissent and the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. With their focus on momentous developments, the world and the international media have paid little attention to suppression and illegal acts by state actors in these countries.

Throughout April, political activists in Uganda were repeatedly harassed, beaten and arrested by the police on trumped up charges whilst largely peaceful marches were violently suppressed. As a member of the Commonwealth, Uganda should ensure that its security forces act in the spirit of the Harare Declaration which emphasises the liberty of the individual and a commitment to human rights. Uganda is also bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which guarantees the right to hold opinions without interference, the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

Walk to work protests began on April 11, 2011 against high fuel prices and a rising cost of living. For three weeks running, these generally peaceful protests were dispersed by the police and the army with rubber bullets, live ammunition, tear gas and pepper spray. At least eight people have been killed including a two year old child in Masaka on April 21, 2011. The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials requires law enforcement agencies to “use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty”. Firing live ammunition indiscriminately into crowds that offer little threat to police officers or members of the public (as protesters have either been unarmed, or on occasion, armed with stones) is never necessary nor a proportional use of force.

The main Ugandan opposition leader and figurehead for the protests, Kizza Besigye has been shot in the hand, sprayed with pepper spray and forcibly extracted from his car by Ugandan police. On April 28, 2011, he was arrested for the third time in a month, having already been detained on charges of inciting violence and unlawful assembly. Grace Turyagumanawe, the Metropolitan police chief, justified the arrests by claiming Besigye "was inciting violence, blocking the road and disobeying police officers."

The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed in Uganda’s Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 4 of the ICCPR maintains that curbing rights such as the freedom of expression is only permissible when there is a public emergency  that threatens the life of the nation. The walk-to-work protests in Uganda have been overtly peaceful and carried out by unarmed members of the public, hence can hardly be seen as threatening the life of the nation.

CHRI also notes the failure of other police forces in the Commonwealth to act in the spirit of international human rights law. In Swaziland protests on April 18, 2011 were declared illegal by the state and police broke up protesters with water cannons and a spate of arbitrary arrests. Mcolisi Ngcamphalala, of the Swaziland Youth Congress said he was held and tortured by police for 24 hours. As in Uganda, the right to freedom of assembly is being desecrated by Swazi police. Torture is forbidden by the UN which states that a law enforcement official may not tolerate any act of torture and shall “ensure the full protection of the health of persons in their custody”.

In neighbouring Mozambique, protests on April 6, 2011 about unfair wage deductions of security staff ended in ugly scenes as riot police were filmed kicking and beating detained protesters. The UN states that “Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty”. Documentary evidence shows that this was not the case as protesters were repeatedly beaten having already been detained. Whilst CHRI deplores the excessive use of force, it is encouraged by the fact that a Commission of Inquiry was set up by the Mozambican Interior Ministry to investigate the incident.

We strongly urge the governments of Uganda and Swaziland to prosecute all those individuals who have been implicated in the use of force against peaceful demonstrators. All those responsible should be made accountable for their actions.

We also urge the Commonwealth to speak out in strong condemnation of actions by the Governments of Swaziland and Uganda who continue to violate the rights and freedoms of their citizens.

We encourage the Governments of the Commonwealth to listen to the cries of the people and act in a transparent manner with their citizens on matters that affect their socio-economic situation. Such matters can only be resolved through the promotion of dialogue, transparency and accountability in government dealings, policies and programmes.

We further recommend that the next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth should review the standards of policing amongst its members.

Uganda Link

I just discovered this piece by the BBC’s Will Ross. It gives a nice context to the ongoing unrest in Uganda. Link: Would Uganda's Museveni recognise his former self?

It is interesting to note that the Commonwealth is yet to comment on the conduct of police in Uganda. As I argued in my article about Swaziland, it is about time that a statement is made by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Ghana's Parliament needs to be proactive on RTI Bill

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, along with the other members of the Coalition on the Right to Information took part in the May Day celebrations at Independence Square in Accra. Members of the coalition marched with the TUC and talked to members of the crowd about their right to information.
The Coalition’s involvement in the May Day celebrations, a public holiday that is marked in more than 80 countries worldwide, is the latest part of a protracted campaign to get the government to pass legislation which has been tabled since 2002. The Right to Information (RTI) Bill bring would bring into practice the constitutional right to information which was guaranteed under Article 21 of the 1992 Constitution and will allow individuals to access information concerning the governance of their affairs in areas such as food, housing, health care and education.

The UN holds that “freedom of information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone for all freedoms”. A voluntary disclosure of information by government creates a conductive environment for a functioning democracy as it helps to curb corruption and reduce speculation and rumour. The ruling National Democratic Congress itself recognised the importance of RTI in its 2008 manifesto and pledged that it would “enact into law the Freedom of Information Bill to facilitate access to official information”. Similar legislation has been passed in Liberia, yet 19 years after the advent of the Fourth Republic, and 9 years after the RTI Bill was first proposed in Ghana, parliament is still dragging its feet.

So what has kept Ghana so long? Lack of funds has been cited by parliamentarians as a reason for not holding preliminary regional consultations. In late January the chairman of Parliament’s Communication Committee, Felix Twumasi-Appiah, was quoted as saying that parliament was unable to afford consultations. (myjoyonline)

However these excuses have no grounding as the World Bank has pledged a reported $50,000 for consultations and video conferences to help parliamentarians learn about other freedom of information laws in Africa.

In a meeting in March 2011 between committees handling the bill and the World Bank an agreement was reached to hold the consultations during the Easter recess. Parliament was obliged to provide a plan of action and a timetable in return for funding. Easter recess began on the April 1^st yet no timetable has been drawn up nor have any consultations been carried out. When Parliament comes back on May 17^th there will be an 11-week session. Without the necessary preceding consultations it looks like yet another session will pass without a vote on the RTI bill.

The story of RTI in Ghana seems to be a story of false dawns. In September 2010 Deputy Minister for Information Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was quoted by myjoyonline as having said that the government was committed to doing everything possible to ensure the passage of the bill. Similar promises were reiterated by the government at Tuesday’s World Press Day whilst minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu has also said plans for passing the bill were in the advanced stages (feedominfo.org).

Time and again positive sentiments have not been followed up by actions and it is seems that there is little appetite from parliament to push on with the bill. Without RTI the executive will remain like it has since the period of colonialism; prone to secrecy and distance.

Commenting on the May Day celebrations, Jonathon Osei Owusu a member of The Coalition on the Right to Information said “parliament should stop the unnecessary procrastination and their attitude of commitment only in pretence. They are hiding their faces behind an alleged lack of funds.  We need information for a free society and without RTI parliament is playing with the future of young Ghanaians”.

With the 2012 elections looming on the horizon it is essential, more now than ever, that Ghana’s democracy is safe guarded by making politicians more accountable to the people they serve. The RTI Bill will help to do this. People should call upon parliament to speed up the process in getting the RTI Bill passed and justify Ghana’s reputation as an internationally respected and progressive African democracy.

Henry Wilkinson, Human Rights Advocacy, CHRI Africa.

many thanks to Toby McIntosh of www.freedominfo.org for his contined coverage of the RTI Bill

African Commonwealth Human Rights Weekly Update (30/04 - 06/05/2011)

Ghana

Sunday 01/05: Right to Information:  CHRI took part in the May Day celebrations at Independence Square in Accra. CHRI and other memebrs of The Coalition on the Right to Information called upon parliament to finally pass Right to Information (RTI) Bill which has been tabled since 2002. The Bill is currently awaiting regional consultations.

The UN holds that “freedom of information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone for all freedoms”. Disclosure of information creates a conductive environment for a functioning democracy as it allows individuals to understand the governance of their affairs in areas such as food, housing, health care and education.

Ghanaians have a constitutional right to information which was guaranteed under Article 21 of the 1992 Constitution. Nonetheless 19 years after the advent of the fourth republic Ghanian citizens still have no mechanism to access government records. The RTI bill is designed to finally make right to information a practical reality in Ghana. For further information on the Right to Information click here.

                                                   CHRI activists pictured below

Rwanda

Wednesday 04/05: War Crimes Trial:     The trial of two Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) leaders accused of masterminding atrocities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo started in Stuttgart in Germany.  Ignace Murwanashyaka and his deputy Straton Musoni are both Rwandan Hutus living in Germany. They are accused of ordering militias to commit mass murder and rape in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between January 2008 and the date of their arrest in November 2009.

The FDLR was established by Hutu exiles (many of them the perpetrators of the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis), who fled to the DRC after the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front won the 1994 civil war.  The FDLR’s political leadership is largely based in Europe whilst its military arm operates in the Kivu area of the DRC.  It is believed to make millions of dollars a year from extortion and mining activities.

The trial comes under a new law which allows the prosecution of foreigners for crimes committed outside Germany. Senior public prosecutor Christian Ritscher said "We have a long list of attacks on the civilian population, killings, people shot because they were not co-operating with the FDLR, women gang raped, rape as a means of armed fight, as means of civil war"

Rwanda has been a member of the Commonwealth since 2009. See the CHRI report about Rwanda’s application by clicking here.


Uganda

Tuesday 03/05: Human Rights Campaigner Honoured:   The Matin Ennals Awards for Human Rights Defenders, a prestigious international human rights prize, has named its 2011 winner as Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, the Ugandan founder and Executive Director of Freedom and Roam Uganda, a lesbian, gay and transgender (LGBT) human rights organization.

Kasha was chosen for her courage to appear publically and speak about LGBT issues despite being previously harassed, threatened and even attacked by people for appearing in the media. On the 26th January 2011 one of her colleagues, gay activist David Kato, was murdered following the publication of a “gay list” by the Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone. Kasha Jacqueline’s name also appears on this list.

The Chairman of the Jury of the Awards, Hans Thoolen, describes the laureate as “an exceptional woman of a rare courage, fighting under death threat for human dignity and the rights of homosexuals and marginalised people in Africa”..

Wednesday 04/05: Right to Assembly:  300 lawyers gathered in Kampala to protest about the recent handling of protest by the police and the treatment of opposition leader Kizza Besigye. All of the lawyers were dressed in black to mourn the death of the rule of law.

Uganda Law Society’s President Bruce Kyerere gave a petition to the chief justice and said "We condemn the indiscriminate beating of protesters, including some senior and respectable members of society, the indiscriminate shooting of peaceful protesters and the firing of tear gas in schools and hospitals." (BBC World Service)

The Law Society's memebers will be on strike until next week.

Meanwhile Anne Mugisha, a top official in Besigye's Forum For Democratic Change party, said that Besigye's eyesight was improving after it was damaged by pepper spray used by the police when he was arrested in last Thursday’s walk to work protests.