In reaction to a Constitutional Court ruling upholding the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has warned that Kampala’s commitment to treat gays as equal to other people will determine the country’s foreign investment climate.
On April 03, 2024, a panel of five judges, including Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, gave their ruling on a petition challenging the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in May 2023. The US and other western powers have labelled the law one of the harshest in the world.
After the ruling on a petition in which gay rights activists had sought to overturn the law, Secretary Blinken said the judgement “undermines human rights and public health for all and poses grave threats to LGBTQI+ Ugandans and allies.”
Reiterating contents of an official US statement on the ruling, Blinken added that “Uganda’s international reputation and ability to increase foreign investment depend on equality under the law.”
The official statement from the US government read: “The United States continues to be deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses in Uganda, including against the LGBTQI+ community. The announcement that some provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Act have been removed by the Constitutional Court is a small and insufficient step towards safeguarding human rights. The remaining provisions of the AHA pose grave threats to the Ugandan people, especially LGBTQI+ Ugandans and their allies, undermine public health, clamp down on civic space, damage Uganda’s international reputation, and harm efforts to increase foreign investment. Uganda should respect the human dignity of all and provide equal protection to all individuals under the law.”
Also reacting to the ruling in equal measure was the EU and a petitioner who claimed that the judges had relied on rumors to reach a decision. (See Details Here and There).
The US has previously slapped sanctions on Ugandan officials over the Anti-Homosexuality Act. (Read Stories Here, There and Over There).
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