(NCOSE) Revealed: how a US far-right group is influencing anti-gay policies in Africa

Source: The Guardian

Revealed: how a US far-right group is influencing anti-gay policies in Africa

US anti-pornography campaigning group has advised, promoted and endorsed anti-LGBTQ+ activists and politicians in Uganda

Jason Wilson
Thu 30 May 2024 15.00 BST
Last modified on Thu 30 May 2024 16.09 BST

A long-standing US anti-pornography campaigning group has advised, promoted and endorsed anti-LGBTQ+ activists and politicians in Uganda, including a governing party member who endorsed anti-LGBTQ+ laws by saying gays “should be castrated”, and a virulently homophobic founder of a “militaristic” Christian boys camp.

The revelations about Washington DC-based National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and its spin-offs and affiliates – based on documents, audio and video recordings and open-source materials – raise questions about its recent disavowals of its history of anti-LGBTQ+ positions, and its role in Uganda’s passage last year of laws on homosexuality which are among the most punitive and restrictive in the world.

It also complicates NCOSE’s efforts to play down its religious associations and its history on the Christian right in order to exercise a more authoritative influence on policymakers in the US and around the world.

The Guardian contacted NCOSE for comment. A spokesperson responded with a link to a December 2023 statement in which the organization admitted to “moments in our organization’s history prior to our leadership change in 2011, when remarks were made that were indeed anti-LGBTQ+” but spoke of a “commitment to serve, uplift, and respect all persons, including members of the LGBTQ+ community”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/30/us-far-right-group-influencing-anti-gay-policy-africa