Sec. Clinton’s Remarks at Presentation of Human Rights Defenders Award

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton poses for a photo with recipients of the U.S. State Department’s 2011 Human Rights Defender Award including Adrian Jjuuko, Geoffrey Ogwaro, Julius Kaggwa, Joanita Warry Nambirige, Clare Byarugaba, Frank Mugisha, and Hassan Shire Sheikh in Kampala, Uganda on August 3, 2012. [State Department photo]

Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
U.S. Embassy Kampala, Uganda
August 3, 2012

Thank you so much. Well, I am very pleased to be here once again in Kampala and to have the opportunity to present the State Department’s 2011 Human Rights Defenders Award to not just one person, but to a coalition of groups that are standing up for human rights and setting an example for how civil society can work together in common cause.

Now I know our meeting has been months in the making, but I am so delighted to be here in person to meet each of you – some of you I’ve met before, but not all of you – and to put everybody’s face and name and organization together.

Since I became Secretary, we have worked to elevate the role of civil society, and especially groups that promote human rights. And so we want to be your partners as well to help bend the arc of history toward justice and to help more people lead lives of dignity and opportunity. The work you are doing is helping to make human rights a human reality. You are tearing down barriers that prevent people from enjoying the full measure of liberty, the full experience of dignity, the full benefits of humanity. And this coalition shows what can happen when brave change-makers come together.

I’ve said before it is critical for all Ugandans – the government and citizens alike – to speak out against discrimination, harassment, and intimidation of anyone. That’s true no matter where they come from, what they believe, or whom they love. And no one has been a stronger champion than all of you. You’ve been organized, disciplined, and savvy. You have marshaled the evidence and made the arguments using the rights enshrined in Uganda’s constitution and in international law. And by doing so, you are a model for others and an inspiration to the world.

I’m well aware that you do your work often amidst difficult, even dangerous circumstances. I know that some of your lives have been threatened, your friends and families intimidated. But I want you to know that the United States is and will be your partner. I raised these issues with President Museveni today, because this isn’t just about carving out special privileges for any one group; this is about making sure universal rights are protected for all people. A violation of anyone’s rights is a violation of everyone’s rights.

Standing up for human rights is not always popular, but it is always honorable. And I am delighted to present you with this award to celebrate the work of this coalition to defend the human rights of all Ugandans.

Let me come over here, and we’ll have a picture. (Applause.)

Related: Winners of the Human Rights Defenders Award

Winners of the Human Rights Defenders Award

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 18, 2012

The U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce that Ales Byalyatski of Belarus and Uganda’s Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law are the joint winners of the 2011 Human Rights Defenders Award. This award recognizes individuals or non-governmental organizations that show exceptional valor and leadership in advocating the protection of human rights and democracy in the face of government repression.

Ugandan LGBTI activist to seek support from Nobel laureates

Repost from The Windy City Times

On April 22-25, Nobel Peace Prize laureates will gather in Chicago for the Nobel Summit, and Ugandan LGBTI activist Frank Mugisha will be there to ask the laureates to publicly recognize LGBTI rights as human rights.

Mugisha is working to raise awareness about the criminalization of homosexuality in Uganda and other African countries through his work as the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). Although LGBTI visibility has increased in African nations, many countries have laws, or are considering laws, that criminalize homosexuality—some with the punishment of death.

He believes that one of the most effective ways to stop the sanctioned brutality against LGBTI individuals is through human-rights leaders around the world acknowledging LGBTI rights as human rights. He was disheartened recently when Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was quoted in the Guardian supporting the criminalization of homosexuality and referring to her country’s traditional values.

Mugisha received the 2011 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and the 2011 Rafto Prize for Human Rights from the Rafto Foundation in Norway for his work. He spoke with Windy City Times by email about his upcoming visit. Continue Reading.

Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) Outraged by the Closure of the LGBTI Capacity Development Workshop by the State Minister of Ethics and Integrity Rev. Fr. Simon Lokodo

KAMPALA- February 15, 2012

Exactly one week after the re-tabling of the Anti Homosexuality Bill (2009) by MP David Bahati, a workshop organized by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) human rights defenders was invaded and shut down in Entebbe. The State Minister for Ethics and Integrity in the Office of the President, Rev. Fr. Simon Lokodo, in the company of an aide and the police, announced that the workshop was illegal and ordered the meeting to close immediately or else force would be used to end the meeting.

“I have closed this conference because it is illegal. We do not accept homosexuality in Uganda. So go back home,” Mr Lokodo told the workshop participants.

SMUG condemns this outright abuse of office by the State Minister of Ethics and Integrity.

According to Frank Mugisha one of the Coordinators of the Capacity Development workshop and present at the time; ‘’Closing our workshop today totally violates our constitutional rights and this intimidation will not stop us from fighting, for equal treatment of all Ugandan citizens.’’ Frank Mugisha is the Executive Director of SMUG and 2011 Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award Laureate

The Minister also ordered the arrest of Kasha Jacqueline Nabagasera, the Executive Director of Freedom and Roam Uganda and 2011 Laureate of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders when she dared to challenge him for disrupting the workshop. Kasha with the help of colleagues was whisked out of the hotel to safety.

Bachmann Campaign Organizer Tied to “Kill the Gays” Backer in Uganda

Repost from The Advocate

The man running outreach to faith-based communities for Republican Michele Bachmann’s nomination campaign has been tied to the key backer of the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda.

The Atlantic reports that Peter E. Waldron had tried to be coy about his identity when confronted, at first refusing to provide his name, but journalist Garance Franke-Ruta discovered that the evangelical pastor was once imprisoned in Uganda for a supposed terrorism plot.

A film about Waldron’s experience is apparently in the works, titled The Ultimate Price: The Peter E. Waldron Story. While Waldron was in Uganda from 2002 to 2006, the Republican political activist was reportedly arrested with a small weapons cache. The details are murky but he spent more than a month in prison.

The surfacing of this name, tied to Uganda, got people wondering. And it turns out Waldron was spotted by happenstance while visiting the church of staunchly antigay, and dangerous, pastor Martin Ssempa. A journalist with The New Republic, Andrew Rice, bumped into them together while researching an article on evangelicals in the country. Continue Reading

LGBTI “Pride” in Uganda Means Fighting for Basic Rights and Freedom

Julius Kaggwa photo:Bronwynne Pereira

Repost from Council member Human Rights First. By Beth Tuckey

Click below to listen to an audio podcast of Ugandan activist Julius Kaggwa on the state of LGBTI equality in Unganda.

As we celebrate Pride Month in the United States, we should also celebrate those who continue to fight for basic rights and freedoms of LGBTI persons in other countries. Ugandan LGBTI activist Julius Kaggwa’s advocacy for equality is an important testament for those in Uganda who have been identified as fringe and whose rights as human beings and citizens are being challenged. Listen to this week’s podcast and learn about Julius’ work on the ground in Uganda and the current state of the controversial Anti-homosexuality bill.

Although the bill never came to a vote before Parliament closed in mid-May, it had the effect of further stigmatizing an already vulnerable population. Many link the murder of activist David Kato in January to the increasingly violent rhetoric surrounding homosexuality. Just months before his death, Kato’s name and photo appeared in a newspaper article about homosexuals in Uganda with the headline “Hang Them.” The fact that the legislation was tabled is only of little comfort to those working on LGBTI rights in Uganda.

Commentary by Rev. Canon Albert Ogle: An eyewitness to homophobia, from Uganda to the UN

Photo credit: Albert Ogle/Facebook

repost from SDGLN

The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle – Special to SDGLN
June 10th, 2011

Editor’s note: Albert Ogle writes: “This week, I travelled from Kampala, Uganda to the United Nations where the global community is debating its priorities for HIV in the next five years. My week began with the homophobic celebration of Ugandan Martyrs Day in Kampala, talking and working with the persecuted LGBT community and praying at the grave of David Kato. It has ended in the UN General Assembly where the role and existence of the LGBT global community is not only questioned but has not even been mentioned in the draft Declaration that will be voted upon this Friday.”

Interpretation of history, particularly religious history, must always be done with the meticulous skill of a surgeon, or the patient may die. Left to the devices of amateurs or God forbid, politicians, lots of people will remain seriously wounded or die.

Interpretation of history, at its highest calling, must be to enable the healing of the past and repair some kind of communal “wound.” The Jewish concept of “repairing the world” while avoiding humanity’s most dangerous sin – amnesia — remains a constant theme engrained in holy Scriptures and epic stories.

“Remembering rightly” is ultimately about community health and survival. Simply put, when history is deliberately distorted, we get in trouble and repeat the mistakes of the past. Continue reading at SDGLN

Uganda’s Current Parliamentary Session Closed Without Vote on Anti-Homosexuality Bill

photo: Andrew Regan

May 13, 2011 – After two years of dangerous discussion, the current parliamentary session in Uganda closed today without a vote on the “anti-homosexuality” bill.  The coordinator of the civil society coalition opposing the bill, Adrian Jjuuko, put it this way: “The Ugandan parliament has closed today. . . . Thus the Anti-Homosexuality Bill has to be reintroduced in the new parliament and the whole process to begin all over again.  Thank you all for the efforts and solidarity in fighting this ominous bill. The struggle may have to begin all over again, but for now, the process is over.”

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced in 2009.  It was an affront to the lives and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans and a threat to democracy and human rights throughout the country.  Indeed, it was the most extreme attempt by any country anywhere to criminalize same-sex relations and relationships, even imposing the death penalty in certain cases.  It also would have criminalized those who provide assistance to LGBT citizens, including medical professionals, family members, pastors or civil society organizations that support the fundamental rights of the country’s LGBT community.

A broad coalition of human rights leaders in Uganda came together to denounce the bill, insisting that it was a backward-looking attempt to divert attention away from growing civil unrest in the country, and from the alarming violence unleashed by the authorities in recent weeks to suppress peaceful protests.  Uganda’s own Human Rights Commission called the bill unconstitutional and inconsistent with the country’s human rights obligations.

The bill could be introduced in the next parliament, which convenes later this month.  And although never adopted, the debate around it has already created an atmosphere of extreme hostility and led to acts of targeted violence against LGBT citizens.  But for now, the brave civil society leaders who stood up to oppose the bill should take pride in their work to protect human rights for all Ugandans.  We are also grateful for the committed response of U.S. foreign policy leaders in the White House, the State Department and Congress who have engaged in a dialogue with Ugandan authorities for nearly two years to highlight the harms caused by this proposal.

Senator Coons: Uganda should end effort to criminalize homosexuality

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2011
CONTACT: Ian Koski at 202-224-4216 or Ian_Koski@coons.senate.gov

Senator Coons: Uganda should end effort to criminalize homosexuality
Africa subcommittee chair calls on Uganda’s parliament to drop controversial legislation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, released the following statement today calling on Uganda’s parliament to drop the Anti Homosexuality Bill currently under consideration:

“Leaders in Uganda should end their efforts to criminalize homosexuality. The Anti Homosexuality Bill currently under consideration in the Ugandan Parliament is draconian, in contravention of international law, and simply wrong. It goes far beyond discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and makes homosexual conduct punishable by prison time or death.  It promotes a climate of oppression and fear, and violates human rights standards universally recognized by the international community.  It has also been decried by Uganda’s own Human Rights Commission, which issued a report in October 2010 concluding it was unconstitutional and inconsistent with international legal obligations.”

“I strongly support the efforts of President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and other international leaders urging Ugandan lawmakers to reject this bill and safeguard human rights for the people of Uganda.  Equality and human rights are intrinsic values that matter in America, in Uganda, and around the world. Criminalizing homosexuality moves Uganda further away from these values and further from the international community.  If the bill becomes law, it will impact Uganda’s relationship with the United States.”

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Take action against the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda.

Ugandan Embassy, London. (AFP/Getty Images)

From our Friends at AllOut.org

Conservative lawmakers in Uganda are working to advance a bill that would sentence LGBT people to death. That’s right, death for countless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Uganda.  We just learned the “kill the gays” bill could come up for a vote in the next 72 hours (1) if we don’t act now.

A conservative leader recently presented the Ugandan parliament with 2 million signatures in support of the law (2). They are trying hard to push the bill forward before the millions like us who oppose it have a chance to speak out. We need to create an international outcry to stop this bill and we need to do it fast.

We have 72 hours to act: can you sign this petition to President Museveni demanding that he publicly vow to veto this hateful bill?  As soon as you sign, please pass it on to everyone you know. Our best chance at stopping the bill is each other—if thousands of us spread the word we can make clear that the world is watching and we will not allow this to stand.

www.allout.org/uganda

While some conservative members of parliament have staked their political careers on this bill (3), Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni has shown himself to be sensitive to international pressure.  Last year, a massive response from people around the world pushed him to stop the bill in its tracks.

A broad coalition of human rights activists, including Bishop Christopher Senyonjo (4), an internationally respected religious leader and outspoken supporter of LGBT equality in Uganda, will deliver our petitions directly to the President.  Will you please take a moment to speak up for what’s right:

www.allout.org/uganda

This terrible bill is part of a pattern from conservatives in Uganda to marginalize pro-democracy forces – in recent weeks, opposition activists have been beaten, teargassed, jailed and even killed (5).   And In the last year LGBT Ugandans have been repeatedly targeted, attacked, and murdered—like beloved activist David Kato (6), murdered just months after a local tabloid published his picture under the headline, “Uganda’s Top Homos: Hang Them.”(7). Others have been driven out of the country as refugees, and sometimes even threatened abroad by the government (8).

Enough is enough.  Please sign this petition to Ugandan president Museveni, demanding that he veto the bill should it be passed in Parliament–and then pass it on to all of your friends.

www.allout.org/uganda

This is so important.  Thank you.

All best and All Out,
Andre, Erika, Guillaume, Jeremy, Joseph, Prerna, Nita, Oli, Tile, Wesley and the rest of the team at All Out

PS – The bill won’t just target LGBT Ugandans – Nurses and doctors could be jailed for failing to “turn in” their patients. And neighbors would be obliged to “report gay activity.” (9) Please sign and share the petition now: http://www.allout.org/uganda