Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has asked lawmakers to amend a proposed anti-homosexuality law that has garnered international criticism. The proposed legislation would criminalize a broad range of homosexual activity, including promoting or abetting the lifestyle, and impose stiff penalties, including death for so-called aggravated homosexuality. The law has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights defenders, Western governments, and corporations.
In a letter to parliament’s speaker, Museveni outlined his reasons for returning the bill and the changes he wanted. He asked lawmakers to clarify that it is not criminal to merely identify as gay and to remove provisions that impose a duty on citizens to report acts of homosexuality. Additionally, he suggested a provision be included to facilitate rehabilitation of homosexuals who voluntarily renounce the practice.
Museveni emphasized the need for the proposed law to distinguish between someone who professes a homosexual lifestyle and someone who actually commits homosexual acts. He urged lawmakers to ensure that what is thought to be criminalized is not the state of having a deviant proclivity but rather the actions of acting on that deviancy.
The country’s deputy attorney general has also advised that a mandatory death penalty be removed from the law. The bill has been referred back to parliament’s legal affairs committee, which will process and report on it before returning it to the full House for fresh debate and passage. Once passed again by the full House, it will be returned to the president for approval.
Critics have called the proposed law one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, and its passage would be a significant setback for LGBTQ rights in Uganda. The president’s proposed revisions have been welcomed by human rights advocates, but some have expressed concern that the bill’s underlying premise remains deeply problematic.