Activists in Uganda finalise appeal against draconian anti-gay law

Source: The Guardian

Activists in Uganda finalise appeal against draconian anti-gay law

The legislation, blamed for a rise in violence, has been criticised by the US and described as ‘shocking and discriminatory’ by the UN

Samuel Okiror in Kampala
Mon 11 Dec 2023 10.11 GMT
Last modified on Mon 11 Dec 2023 11.40 GMT

Civil society groups in Uganda will meet constitutional court judges this week as they attempt to overturn the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ law.

The law, which received overwhelming support from MPs when it was passed in March, imposes the death sentence and life imprisonment for certain homosexual acts.

Activists will appear at the court on Monday to finalise their appeal before the date is set for a full hearing later this month.

Clare Byarugaba, an LGBTQ+ advocate from Chapter Four, a Ugandan civil liberties organisation, said: “We are challenging the anti-homosexuality law because it does not pass any constitutional litmus test, and we shall win, because such an abhorrent law whose only aim is to spread hate and institutionalise discrimination and exclusion does not belong on Uganda’s law books and should never have been enacted in the first place.”

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Read more: https://archive.is/ST8k6

Original Guardian link (registration required): https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/dec/11/activists-in-uganda-finalise-appeal-against-draconian-anti-gay-law