An Atrocity in Uganda

Two hours ago, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law a bill that criminalizes homosexuality. The new piece of legislation takes draconian measures to discriminate against LGBT citizens. Below I'll simplify the news through elaborating on a brief overview of the bill, international aid to Uganda, homosexuality in Africa, and international backlash. My explanations are long so if you want some more subjective writing you can skip to my opinion down below.

President Yoweri Museveni

Brief overview of the bill:

• A Ugandan lawmaker first introduced the bill in 2009 with a death penalty clause for some homosexual acts. It was briefly shelved when Britain and other European nations threatened to withdraw aid to Uganda, which relies on millions of dollars from the international community. 
• The nation's parliament passed the bill in December, replacing the death penalty provision.
• The bill that passed divides homosexual behavior into two categories
• The first is called "aggravated homosexuality" in which an offender would receive life in prison. "Aggravated homosexuality" includes homosexual acts committed by a person who is HIV-positive, is a parent or authority figure, or who administers intoxicating substances, homosexual acts committed on minors or people with disabilities, and repeat offenders
• The second category is called "the offense of homosexuality" and includes same-sex sexual acts, involvement in a same-sex marriage, or an attempt to commit aggravated homosexuality. First time offenders in this category would automatically receive 14 years in prison. second time offenders would face more time. 
• Moreover, the bill requires anyone who is aware of an offense or an offender, including companies, media organizations, or NGOS who support LGBT rights, to report the offender within 24 hours. If an individual does not do so they are also considered an offender and face 250 "currency points" or imprisonment for up to three years. 
• President Museveni fluctuated between retracting the bill and signing it. He indicated he needed to know "whether, indeed, there are people who are born homosexual", in which case it would be wrong to punish them; he would not sign the bill until that matter had been clarified. Museveni rapidly retracted that statement and publicly signed it into law on February 24. Museveni's decision was purportedly based on a report by "medical experts" who say "homosexuality is not genetic but a social behavior." 

International aid to Uganda (courtesy of Global Humanitarian Assistance, 2011):

• Total assistance= US $1.6 billion
• Humanitarian assistance = US $56 million
• Cost of multilateral peacekeeping operations= US $7 million
• Government revenues= US $3.9 billion
• Uganda received the equivalent of 9.9% of its gross national income as aid in 2011
• Uganda has experienced active conflict in each of the ten years between 2002 and 2011
• Classified as a fragile state, 2012
• Vulnerability index score, 2012-2013: High

Homosexuality in Africa:

• Homosexuality is illegal in 38 African countries where most sodomy laws were introduced during colonialism
• In Uganda homosexual acts were punishable by 14 years to life in prison even before the controversial bill was signed into law
• Since 2011 some first world countries have been considering or implementing laws that limit or prohibit general budget support to countries that restrict the rights of homosexuals
• In spite of this many African countries are continuing to breach international human rights laws
• Many African leaders feel that gay rights are against their cultural and religious value systems and believe they have a sovereign right to reject what they see as an imposition by mainly Western nations, which attempts to affect national sentiment via aid
• Gay and lesbian organizations in Africa fear the ripple effect from the anti-gay bill could spread beyond Uganda to other parts of a continent where conservative societies tend to view homosexuality as unnatural 

International backlash:

• "It's a gloomy day not just for the gay community in Uganda but for all Ugandans who care about human rights because this law will affect everybody," said Julian Peppe Onziema, a gay rights campaigner in Uganda
• Amnesty International said the law was "wildly discriminatory" and amounted to a grave assault on human rights
• The law comes a week after U.S. President Barack Obama said the legislation would be "a step backward for all Ugandans" and warned it would complicate relations
• A senior Obama administration official had said the U.S. would review relations with Uganda if the law was enacted. Washington is one of Uganda's largest donors, sending more than $400 million a year
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu has condemned the law, saying there is no scientific or moral basis ever for prejudice and discrimination- and accusing the Ugandan president of breaking a promise not to enact the law. 

After stating all of these relevant facts, I hope that anyone who reads this post agrees that this anti-gay bill is simply disgusting and atrocious. President Museveni is clearly standing on the wrong side of history. But condemning the piece of legislation is only the first step in a long process to try to overcome and fight LGBT discrimination in Uganda and Africa. The next step is to figure out why President Museveni enacted the legislation. Then, collective action must be taken immediately to counter these draconian measures. The more countries collaborate together, the better. 

So, first and foremost, it is highly likely that President Museveni passed this anti-gay bill due to Ugandan presidential elections in 2016. The veteran leader's signature will please many voters opposed to homosexuality in the staunchly conservative east African country. Museveni, however, risks alienating Western aid donors, which is a perfect segway into my next point. 

Collective action must be taken immediately to punish the Ugandan government for passing the bill. In 2011 a host of Western nations demonstrated their desire to withdraw aid to Uganda in response to anti-gay legislation introduced in the Ugandan parliament. This can happen again. The U.S. currently gives $400 million on an annual basis in foreign aid to Uganda. There's only one caveat: Uganda is a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic extremism in Somalia. Ugandan troops have formed the backbone of the African Union peacekeeping force battling al Qaeda-aligned militants. Still, the U.S. can appropriate the necessary money for Ugandan peacekeeping while withdrawing money in other sectors of life. Furthermore, other European countries can cut down their foreign aid to Uganda. The U.S. does not have to drastically lower our aid, rather, collectively each country can skim from their money pools to produce an effective counterattack to the anti-gay legislation. 

I hope that this post has adequately covered this horrible event. We must evaluate how frequently the law will be carried out and counter its execution with sanctions of our own.