Non-governmental organisations defending LGBT+ rights are increasingly under pressure by the Ugandan government putting the lives and well-being of LGBT+ people at risk, Right Livelihood warned the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday.
Delivered at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council, our statement noted that Uganda’s NGO Bureau suspended the work of Sexual Minorities Uganda, one of the country’s main organisations defending LGBT+ rights. Seven other organisations are also at risk of being shut down.
“As a consequence, similar groups, health centres and home shelters are suspending their activities for fear of reprisals,” the statement said. “In a country where homosexuality can be sentenced with life imprisonment, those services are sometimes a matter of life or death. “
Given the ever-worsening situation of LGBT+ people in Uganda, we called on the Council to keep the country under close scrutiny and urge the Ugandan government to uphold the fundamental rights of its LGBT+ citizens, in line with their international human rights obligations.
The Council must also urge Uganda to reverse its decision to close Sexual Minorities Uganda and refrain from using NGO legislation to limit the activities of LGBT+ advocacy groups.
