Leading African clergy, jurists and civil society groups call on Uganda to stop the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Press Release:
March 31, 2009

Leading African clergy, jurists and civil society groups call on Uganda to stop the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Leading African clergy and prominent individuals, as well as more than 60 civil society and human rights groups from 10 sub-Saharan African countries have endorsed a statement calling on the President, Government and Parliament of Uganda to reject the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in its entirety.



The Anti-Homosexuality Bill provides for severe punishment, inclusive imprisonment, for those engaging in same sex relations, as well as for members of the public who fail to report such activities to the authorities. The original draft also provides for the death penalty and life imprisonment. The Bill has already gone through the first reading in Parliament and is now before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. “We are very concerned that it could become law within a few weeks or months”, said Adrian Jjuuko, Coordinator of Uganda's Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law.



The statement has been endorsed by leading African clergy such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, the current Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Reverend Dr. Thabo Cecil Makgoba and Canon Gideon Byamugisha of Uganda. Others endorsing the statement include Pius Langa, the former Chief Justice of South Africa, and other jurists, academics, truth commissioners and human rights activists.



In the declaration, the endorsing individuals and organizations reaffirm their commitment to the universality of the human rights of all persons. They note that “all forms of discrimination, in particular against vulnerable groups, undermine the human dignity of all in Africa”. The statement declares that the Bill “promotes prejudice and hate and encourages harmful and violent action against marginalized groups in Africa”.



“Civil society organisations throughout Africa are mobilizing to persuade Ugandan Parliamentarians to block this pernicious Bill”, said Phumi Mtetwa, executive director of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project in South Africa. Godwin Buwa, a lawyer with the Refugee Law Project in Kampala said that “if the Bill is passed, even in diluted form, it would constitute a massive setback for human rights in Africa”.



The statement calls on African governments and the African Union to call on the President and Government of Uganda to withdraw the Bill and to respect the human rights of all in Uganda, without exception.

The list of individuals and organizations continues to grow and will be updated regularly. The full list can be viewed at www.alp.org.za and www.ugandans4rights.org



CALL BY AFRICAN CIVIL SOCIETY: REJECT THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL



We, the individuals and organisations from African countries listed hereunder, recognise the universality of the human rights of all persons.



We affirm that the right of men and women to have same sex relationships is a fundamental human right.



We are further guided in the knowledge that all forms of discrimination, in particular against vulnerable groups, undermine the human dignity of all in Africa.



We are therefore profoundly disturbed by the nature, content and potential impact of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (“the Bill”) that was recently tabled in and is currently being considered by the Parliament of Uganda.



We believe that the Bill, if enacted, will cut deeply into the fabric of Ugandan society by–

· Violating the rights of an already vulnerable and severely stigmatised group of persons by attacking their dignity, privacy and other constitutionally protected rights;

· Disrupting family and community life by compelling everyone, by the threat of criminal sanction, to report those suspected of engaging in same-sex sexual activity;

· Seeking to withdraw Uganda from the family of nations by reneging on the country’s international law obligations;

· Undermining public health interventions such as HIV prevention, treatment, care and support;

· Promoting prejudice and hate and encouraging harmful and violent action to be taken against those engaging in same sex relations.

We respectfully call on the Parliament of Uganda to reject the Bill in its entirety.



We also call on African governments and the African Union to call on the President and Government of Uganda to withdraw the Bill and to respect the human rights of all in Uganda, without exception.





Statement endorsed by:-



African personalities include:[1]

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu (former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Former Chairperson of the South African Truth & Reconciliation Commission, former General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize)



Most Reverend Dr. Thabo Cecil Makgoba (Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town)



Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha, (Ordained Priest in the Church of Uganda, Recipient of the 2009 Niwano Peace Prize)



Bishop Jo Seoka (Bishop of Pretoria)



Pius Langa, (former Chief Justice of South Africa, Chancellor of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, former Chancellor of the University of KwaZulu Natal, founder member and former President of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL); co-founder of the Release Mandela Campaign (Natal); recipient of the Order of the Supreme Counselor of the Baobab: Gold)



Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza SC (Acting Judge of the Cape High Court, Member of the South African Judicial Services Commission, Member of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, National Chairperson of Advocates for Transformation)



Reverend Bongani Blessing Finca (former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Provincial Electoral Officer for the Eastern Cape, South Africa)



Dr. A. Atia Apusigah (Department of African Studies, University for Development Studies, Ghana)



Yasmin Sooka (former Commissioner of the South African & Sierra Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, former Acting Judge of the High Court of South Africa, Director of the Foundation for Human Rights)

Kader Asmal, (Honorary Professor, University of the Western Cape; former South African Minister of Education, Barrister of Lincoln's Inn, London; former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Trinity College; founding member of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, former Chairperson of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement, former member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress)

Dr. Alexander Lionel Boraine, (former President of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Chairperson of the Mauritian Truth & Reconciliation Commission, former Deputy-Chairperson of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission)


Dipak Patel, (former Director-General of Transport in the South African Government and senior officer of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress)



Dr Fazel Randera, (former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, former Inspector-General of Intelligence, former National Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Committee)



Mary Burton (former Commissioner of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, former President of the Black Sash, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the University of Cape Town, Recipient of National Order of Luthuli Award)





African based Civil Society Organisations:



1. Africa Centre for HIV/Aids Management (South Africa)

2. African Council of AIDS Service Organizations (Senegal)

3. African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (Cameroon)

4. AIDS Consortium (South Africa)

5. AIDS Law Project (South Africa)

6. AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (Namibia)

7. Amnesty International East Africa (Uganda)

8. Anti-Privatisation Forum (South Africa)

9. Artists for a New South Africa (South Africa)

10. Association for Progressive Communications (South Africa)

11. Centre for Social Accountability (South Africa)

12. Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (Malawi)

13. Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (South Africa)

14. Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (South Africa)

15. Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law (Uganda)

16. Clinton Health Access Initiative (Uganda)

17. Coalition to End Discrimination (South Africa)

18. Development for Peace Education (Sierra Leone)

19. Engender (South Africa)

20. Equal Education (South Africa)

21. Fahamu, African Networks for Social Justice (Kenya)

22. Foundation for Human Rights (South Africa)

23. Freedom and Roam Uganda (Uganda)

24. Gay Umbrella (South Africa)

25. Gender DynamiX (South Africa)

26. Grassroots Movement for Health and Development (Malawi)

27. Gun Free South Africa (South Africa)

28. Health4Men (South Africa)

29. History Department of Rhodes University (South Africa)

30. Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (Uganda)

31. Human Rights Media Centre (South Africa)

32. Human Rights Institute of South Africa (South Africa)

33. Human Rights Watch (South Africa)

34. Independent Medico Legal Unit (Kenya)

35. International Center for Transitional Justice (South Africa)

36. International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (South Africa)

37. Intersex South Africa (South Africa)

38. Kenya Human Rights Commission (Kenya)

39. Kubatana Trust (Zimbabwe)

40. Labour Research Service (South Africa)

41. Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (South Africa)

42. Legal Assistance Centre (Namibia)

43. OUT LGBT Well-Being (South Africa)

44. Out In AFrica Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (South Africa)

45. Pambazuka News (Kenya)

46. People Opposing Women Abuse (South Africa)

47. Public Service Accountability Monitor; Centre for Social Accountability (South Africa)

48. Rainbow UCT (South Africa)

49. Refugee Law Project (Uganda)

50. Rural Health Advocacy Project (South Africa)

51. Sexual Minorities (Uganda)

52. Social Justice Coalition (South Africa)

53. Sonke Gender Justice Network (South Africa)

54. South African History Archive (South Africa)

55. Southern Africa Litigation Centre (South Africa)

56. Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (South Africa)

57. Students for Law & Social Justice (South Africa)

58. Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (South Africa)

59. Treatment Action Campaign (South Africa)

60. Uhspa-Uganda (Uganda)

61. Women's Academic Solidarity Association of Rhodes University (South Africa)

62. Women’s Legal Centre (South Africa)

63. Women'sNet (South Africa)



---------------

Inquiries:

Phumi Mtetwa (Johannesburg): +27 72 795 9194; phumi@equality.org.za



Jonathon Berger (Johannesburg): +27 83 419 5779; bergerj@alp.org.za



Adrian Jjuuko (Kampala): +256 - 782 - 169 – 505; jjuukoa@yahoo.co.uk;



Godwin Buwa (Kampala): +256 - 712 – 864728; godwinbuwa@yahoo.com,

www.rjmm.co.uk

Setting Up Our Websites

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I want you to be the first to know that we are in the process of setting up our direct websites, this work is under construction. The direct links are www.houseofrainbow.org which will serve all the online ministry work of HOR and also www.rjmm.co.uk. which will be the direct webpage for Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay Ministries.
If you have any suggestions for the webpage development please do not hesitate to get in touch with me directly. Rev Jide

UPR Ethiopia

United Nations Human Right Council 13th Session
UPR Ethiopia

Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network &
International Lesbian and Gay Association - Europe

Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay

Mr President,

I have the honour to present a statement on behalf of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Pan Africa ILGA.

We wish to address the recommendations contained in paragraph 99 (21 & 22) in the Working Group report on Ethiopia, which urges the government to;

• “Strengthen the human rights education and training of military forces and police, prison and judicial staff, and ensure their accountability for any violations of human rights, in particular for violence or sexual violence against women, children and persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity”
• “ decriminalize consensual same-sex activity between adults”.

While we appreciate the sensitivity of the issues, the criminal prohibitions on sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex under article 629 of the Penal Code are a violation of established international human rights law.

Treaty bodies have repeatedly affirmed that such laws violate international rights to privacy and non-discrimination. As the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has also emphasized: “there remain all too many countries which continue to criminalize sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex in defiance of established human rights law.” A resolution unanimously adopted at the NGO Forum to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in November 2009 urges States to “comply with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights by repealing laws which criminalize sexual conduct between consenting adults of the same sex”.

In Ethiopia not all men who have sex with men necessarily identify as homosexuals. As UNAIDS has noted, laws criminalising homosexuality pose a threat to public health as they frustrate the important work of creating access to HIV prevention and awareness programmes for men who have sex with men.

We therefore urge the Ethiopian government:

• To repeal all legislative provisions which criminalize sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex; and
• To take measures to recognise and protect the rights of sexual and gender minorities, and extend its HIV intervention programs to include same-sex practicing people.

Thank you very much Mr President.

UPR Equatorial Guinea

United Nations Human Right Council 13th Session
Geneva, 15th to 19th March 2010.
UPR Equatorial Guinea – Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.


Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay
Mr President

We appreciate the delegation’s constructive engagement in the UPR process, and thank you again for your leadership on many important human rights issues.

We commend Equatorial Guinea for accepting the majority of the recommendations, especially paragraph 70(7), noted in the Working Group report, in supporting human rights education and training. Formulated by the Czech Republic, this is a recommendation to:

“Strengthen mechanisms for ensuring awareness and implementation of international human rights obligations, including through establishment of human rights educational programmes for police, prison and judicial staff with special attention to protection of human rights of women, children, persons of minority sexual orientation and gender identity, etc”.

We welcome Equitorial Guinea’s acceptance of this recommendation, which will help ensure that authorities are able to respond more effectively to the needs of all members of society, including women, children and those who are marginalised because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

We would also encourage the government to take steps to ensure that there is no legal or social discrimination on these grounds.

Finally, in implementation of the government’s agreement to take measures to ensure awareness-raising, educational programmes and non-discrimination on grounds inclusing sexual orientation, gender identity and HIV status, we express our willingness to work with the government to develop and implement initiatives to achieve these goals.

Thank you very much Mr President.

UPR Bhutan

United Nations Human Right Council 13th Session
Geneva, 15th to 19th March 2010.

UPR Bhutan
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network

Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay.


Mr President, distinguished members of the delegation,

I have the honour to present a statement on behalf of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.

We wish to address recommendation 60 in paragraph 101 of the Working Group report on Bhutan, namely to repeal all provisions in the Penal Code which criminalize sexual activities between consenting adults of the same sex.

We appreciated the delegation’s affirmation in its response that articles 213 and 214 of the Penal Code have never been applied in relation to consensual sexual activities between adults of the same sex. At the same time, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled in the 1994 case of Toonen v. Australia that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct violate the rights to privacy and non-discrimination protected by the ICCPR. The Human Rights Committee has also confirmed that these laws are inconsistent with international law even when they are not actively enforced, since they stigmatize marginalised populations and undermine human dignity.

As further noted by the Human Rights Committee, laws criminalising homosexuality “run counter to the implementation of effective education programmes in respect of HIV/AIDS prevention” by driving marginalised communities underground, a finding supported by UNAIDS and other key actors in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The delegation of Bhutan in its response also recognised that many such laws are of colonial origin, a point underlined by the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who has stated: “There remain all too many countries which continue to criminalize sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex in defiance of established human rights law. Ironically, many of these laws are relics of the colonial era, and are increasingly becoming recognised as anachronistic, and as inconsistent both with international law and with traditional values of dignity, inclusion, and respect for all.”

Finally, we note the government’s affirmation that these laws may be re-examined in future, when the public feels the need to do so. We emphasize that human rights must never be a popularity contest, but we do welcome the government’s willingness to review these laws in future, and we urge the government to take all necessary steps to bring these provisions into conformity with international law as soon as possible.

Thank you.

UPR Cote D'Ivoire

United Nations Human Right Council 13th Session
Geneva, 15th to 19th March 2010.
UPR Cote d’lvoire – Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network

Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay

Mr President, distinguished members of the delegation,

I have the honour to present a statement on behalf of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Pan Africa ILGA.

We wish to address recommendation 99(28) formulated during the interactive dialogue, which enjoyed the support of Côte d’Ivoire, namely: “To take measures to ensure non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity”.

We acknowledge and commend the government of Cote D’ivoire for agreeing to take action on the recommended measures to ensure that no-one faces discrimination, including on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The government’s acceptance of this recommendation is in keeping with a resolution unanimously adopted at the NGO Forum to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in November 2009, and will have a positive impact on societal and government official responses to the issues of the LGBT community. It is also an important tool for fostering a sense of inclusion and enhancing access to HIV prevention and education programmes.

We note that Côte d’Ivoire did not take the further step of accepting an additional recommendation to implement awareness-raising programmes on these grounds, although we appreciate the government’s affirmation that it does not consider same-sex relations between consenting adults to be criminal and does not penalise or discriminate on this basis.

The government has indicated that awareness-raising programmes on these grounds is therefore not a “current priority”, although we encourage the government to consider such programmes in the future, to better foster social understanding, tolerance and inclusion.

Finally, in implementation of the government’s agreement to take measures to ensure non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, we express our willingness to work with the government to develop and implement initiatives to achieve these goals.

Thank you very much Mr President.

UPR Democratic Republic of Congo

United Nations Human Right Council 13th Session
UPR Democratic Republic of Congo

Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network &
International Lesbian and Gay Association

Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay

Mr President,

I have the honour to present a statement on behalf of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Pan Africa ILGA.

We wish to address the recommendations contained in paragraph 97(10) in the Working Group report on the Democratic Republic of Congo, which urges the government to “decriminalize consensual same-sex activity between adults”.

The criminal prohibitions on sexual activity against “morals” and “family life” under articles 168-170 and 172 of the Penal Code can be used to criminalise sexual activity between consenting adults.

While we appreciate the sensitivity of the issues, we remind the government that its primary obligation is to respect international law. According to the United Nations Human Rights Committee's 1994 ruling in the case Toonen v. Australia, laws criminalizing homosexual conduct violate the right to privacy and non-discrimination protected by the ICCPR.

These laws threaten the existence of sexaul minorities and also impede measures to address HIV and AIDS by driving marginalised communities underground, a position also affirmed by UNAIDS and the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo not all men who have sex with men necessarily identify as homosexuals. The criminal legislation continues to have a negative impact on important HIV prevention work for the community, and this we believe is a threat to public health.

We therefore urge the government to implement the recommendations of member states and take action:

• To ensure that the penal code is not applied to criminalize homosexual activity between consenting adults, and bring this into line with the provisions of the ICCPR, particularly articles 2 and 26.
• To adopt measures and effective educational programmes for the prevention of HIV/AIDS; and
• To provide law enforcement and judicial officials with specific training regarding the protection of human rights of sexual minorities.

Finally, we are prepared to work with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to develop and implement initiatives to achieve these recommendations.

Thank you very much Mr President.

Religions, Homophobia, Transphobia..,

Religions, homophobia, transphobia….

A rationale for an initiative around the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

1 Religions and homo/transphobia

All over the world, transphobic and homophobic violence is often perpetrated by conservative people who use religion to justify their acts. This is not the privilege of any specific religion and it would be only too easy to find examples related to outburst of violence in Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, animist, etc… contexts. Leading to a climate of violence, exclusion, hate and discrimination within the faith groups and believers, these expressions of violence also indirectly influence many non-believers or atheist people, and lead them to opinions and acts that attack the dignity, safety and sometimes the very lives of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people. Far from being a phenomenon of the past, this religious violence is a persistent, and sometimes an increasing reality in many countries. The conservative religious right is also mandating its theology of violence and exclusion into the political realms as well.

But at the same time, many voices are increasingly being heard that express concern that religions are being invoked to justify violence and exclusion. On the contrary many believers are gradually joining the position that violence and bigotry should not be one of the most visible expressions of their faith . They feel the religious scriptures express values that encourage respect for human dignity, values that welcome the ‘stranger’, the ‘other’, values that promote hospitality and respect for diversity. Groups and individuals, including many non-religious or atheist movements, increasingly raise their voices in support of Bishop Gene Robinson’s argument that if religion has been the biggest obstacle to full equality and dignity for LGBTI people, it can also make the biggest contribution to changing the situation.

Various movements and initiatives exist around the world who work on both promoting the positive role and combating the negative role of religions in the struggle for the rights of individuals to live free from discrimination on the basis of their Sexual Orientation or/and Gender Identity.

To contribute to addressing these challenges, the IDAHO Committee, the organisation promoting the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia worldwide , proposes to envisage an initiative that aims at taking advantage of the added political and media exposure that the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia provides to support and develop advocacy strategies around the issue of Religions, homophobia and Transphobia.

Arguments for the added value that the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia brings to advocacy strategies:
- It gets good media attention and provides an interesting moment to go public and talk to the media.
- It is a good opportunity to request political attention from policy makers.
- It generates mainstream social attention and allows getting messages out to constituencies that are outside of the “usual” LGBTI/Human Rights circles. It may therefore increase the public campaigning potential around LGBT issues, including through the mobilisation of social networks.
- Through the common focus on one Day, it allows joint initiatives to take place. It helps build perennial alliances around a cause.

It is proposed that the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia in both 2010 and 2011 are used as campaigning moments over this issue.




2 Outline of an initiative focusing on the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

Following some early exchanges between the IDAHO Committee, and some members of the religious LGBTI organisations, the following arguments/elements for an initiative were highlighted :

The objective of the initiative would be to expose and discuss how religion and politics in many countries are intertwined in such a way that religion poses a political problem for the LGBTI. To discuss about this matter honestly and directly and to discuss the role of religion in society especially the role it plays with regards to LGBTI people.

Although the Day is focused on fighting homophobia and transphobia, its spirit should be to engage into mutually respectful dialogue and strategy, and not in a confrontational approach that would (in this case) consider religious movements as our “enemies”. A strategy around the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia shall focus on the positive contributions that religious movements can have to create a safer and more inclusive environment (focusing on the essence and roots of religions). It shall in part expose and oppose the negative impact of religious fundamentalist discourses but shall mainly be about highlighting the alternative to these discriminatory positions. The language around this initiative should be “FOR” not “against”. This initiative shall raise the profile of those religious leaders and communities who are working for inclusion, religious people who usually tend to be marginalized within the Churches themselves, also to raise the profile of Gay Affirmative Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and other places of worship.

As is always the case for the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, each participant should develop their own activities as they feel useful and feasible in their own context. Yet, coming together over some common actions brings a clear added value. We therefore suggested two directions :

1) Developing and disseminating an international Appeal to Religions, that organisations can endorse but also circulate to their audiences. The aim is to gather as many signatures as possible from citizens, politicians, intellectuals, and of course Religious leaders.

2) Organising national dialogue initiatives around this issue, preferably including the progressive religious leaders, in order to promote a positive and constructive participation of religions in the Human Rights debate.




For further information please contact Joel Bedos jbedos@idahomophobia.org or Louis Georges Tin tinluigi@aol.com

UPR Eritrea

United Nations Human Right Council 13th Session
Geneva, 15th to 19th March 2010.
UPR Eritrea – Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network

Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay

Mr President

I have the honour to present a statement on behalf of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Pan Africa ILGA.

An issue of serious concern raised during the UPR of Eritrea relates to the criminalization of consensual same-sex conduct under article 600 Penal Code of 1957. Such provisions are a violation of established international human rights law and a major threat to public health.

In response to recommendations to repeal this provision, the Eritrean government has responded that these recommendations are in “conflict with the values and traditions of the Eritrean people”. While we appreciate the sensitivity of the issues, we remind the government that its primary obligation is to respect international law.

Treaty bodies have repeatedly affirmed that laws criminalising homosexuality violate international rights to privacy and non-discrimination. As the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has also emphasized: “there remain all too many countries which continue to criminalize sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex in defiance of established human rights law.” A resolution unanimously adopted at the NGO Forum to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in November 2009 urges States to “comply with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights by repealing laws which criminalize sexual conduct between consenting adults of the same sex”.

The current law is likely to exacerbate incidents of harassment, abuse, arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions of homosexual people. As UNAIDS has noted, such laws also pose a threat to public health as they frustrate the important work of creating access to HIV prevention and awareness programmes for men who have sex with men.

We therefore urge the Eritrean government;

• To repeal all legislative provisions which criminalize sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex; and
• To take measures to recognise and protect the rights of sexual and gender minorities, and extend its HIV intervention programs to include same-sex practicing people.

Thank you very much Mr President.