testing one two one two testing one t testing one two one two one t good afternoon ladies and gentlemen i would like to welcome all of you to today's important hearing on the situation of the l l g b t community and ogando as co chair of the tom lantos human rights commission i would like to express my gratitude to my friend and colleague from wisconsin congresswoman tammy baldwin for requesting today's timely hearing congresswoman baldwin is an active member of the executive committee on the commission the co chair of the congressional congressional lesbian gay bisexual and trans trans gender equality c a national leader on concerns of the l g b t community she will be serving as the chair of today's hearing the tom lantos human rights commission was set up to defend the human rights of all people regardless of gender faith nationality ethnic origin or sexual orientation and idea and identity as you know the commission has sense as the commission has since its relatively recent inception covered a broad range of human rights issues around the globe has given to this commission the commission's namesake for a former colleague congressman tom lantos called before a precedent setting public briefing on capitol hill on august seventh one thousand nine hundred eighty when the human rights caucus held a during an international human rights violations based on sexual orientation which gave an around the world overview of the worst forms of human rights violations based on individuals real or perceived sexual orientation or gend as a bit of institutional history i encourage all of you to read the testimonies of the one thousand nine hundred eight caucus in the congressional record from the hundred fifty congress which you can easily search on the web site of the library of congress at w w w thomas dot gov just search for the words international human rights violations based on sexual orientation aug seventh one thousand nine hundred eighty unfortunately you will find that those testimonies could easily have been given today sadly in hundred eighty just as today l g v t issues seem to be married in partisan politics and i'm glad that we have a congress can rely on the strong leadership of congresswoman baldwin in bringing attention to this often life threatening form of discrimination in violations of basic human rights this is especially true when we look at the anti homosexuality bill gonda this draft legislation and i do want to stress that it is only draft at this point is steeped in religious bigotry and homophobia be gotten by a frenzy of hate stirred by whipped up public sentiment which unfortunately is not uncommon in too many countries around the world with varying degrees of anti l g b t legislations in decrees and imposes life sentences for same sex sexual acts limits the distribution of hiv aids information and imposes the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality it also turns the citizenry of organza into sex spies as they would be required to report on their l g b to friends and family and the penalty of prison i do want to repeat that this is currently draft legislation and that the president will guide the has announced that the parliament needs more time to consider this bill as it has not become a f debated plans to pass a draft revision of their criminal code that would have for the first time made homosexuality a crime in rwanda burundi has recently added a criminal provision targeting the  b community again in a country where consensual conduct was not previously criminalized these proposals represent contemptible statements of hate and bias but they also have serious consequences these global efforts to target sexual minorities represent enormous obstacles to effectively addressing hiv aids and i believe the effectiveness of u s contributions through  pepfar the president's emergency plan for aids relief in uganda alone two thousand and eight pepfar spending amounted to almost three hundred million dollars representing approximately two point six percent of the total ugandan condom me we know that countries that do not discriminate are better able to curb the transmission of the virus the anti homosexuality bill will put all to effectively address the needs of most at risk populations including men who have sex with men in serious jeopardy the severity of the ugandan legislation requires a severe response other nations have already responded sweden has indicated that it will cut bilateral assistance gonda should the bill be passed canada and the united kingdom have condemned the bill here in the house of representatives ninety three of my colleagues both republican and democrat join me in sending a letter to president obama and president seventy this week requesting their strong support in preventing homosexual the act from becoming law there have been other calls from congress to review uganda's trade status and revoke it's beneficial beneficiary status should this legislation become law so what is the appropriate u s response what have we already done to prevent destructive efforts in uganda and elsewhere around the world to criminalize l g b t community will we answer this call to stand up for human rights it is my hope that our hearing this afternoon will answer these important questions i look forward to hearing from our administration a positive report that is using every means possible to deter the anti homosexuality act and similar hate based measures from passage and i hope that all ugandans and particularly those who are lesbian gay bisexual and transgender will hear the voice of this congress state very clearly that we will not tolerate these types of human rights violations the united states has a long and proud albeit imperfect history of being a world leader in standing up for human rights and human dignity we meet here today in the name of our former colleague tom lantos who suffered at the hands of processor and made it his life's work to ensure that america always stood as a beacon of justice in the face of hatred and violence it is time once again for america to lead individuals and nations around the world know that sanctioning intolerance is not policy of our nation they must hear that we view the issues at stake in uganda as larger than the specific concerns of any one group human rights justice tolerance freedom from oppression human dignity these rights are meaningless when they are not applied equally to all members of society they will hear today that we reject any attempt to characterize it otherwise i'd like to extend my sincere thanks to all of our witnesses this afternoon for being here and a special thanks to mr for travelling all the way from uganda to testify mr cardwell we are all very much appreciative of your time and look forward to hearing your testimony before we begin to receive testimony i want to take a brief moment to thank many people whose help was instrumental in putting this hearing together my special thanks to the council for global equality and the american jewish world service we're very pleased to be joined this afternoon by carl white deputy assistant secretary for central africa african affairs and east african affairs at the department of state secretary weisskopf joined the foreign service in in the twenty first century at the core of our belief the administration's belief that respect for human rights and good governance are integral to the development of peace security and prosperity across the continent as president obama said during his july trip to i do not see the countries and peoples of africa as a world apart i see africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world as partners with america on behalf of the future that we want for all our children africa's diversity  not a cause for division we all share a common aspirations to live in peace and security to access education and opportunity to love our families our communities and our faith that is our common humanity that is why we stand up  that the bill also in addition to the concerns that you have outlined is fundamentally fundamentally contrave a number of very basic human rights  and i would highlight for you the bills introduction in september the us government has indeed led a growing international chorus of voices opposing this bill the white house has made a statement in january expressing our opposition to the bill my by the canadian prime minister stephen harper and we also know that there have been many statements of opposition from human rights groups religious leaders newspaper editorial boards from around the world that have committee to which it's been assigned will likely to begin debate on this legislation in march or april as our estimate some in uganda have suggested the drop in provisions on capital punishment and mandatory reporting requirements will render this legislation less controversial  clear however that even with such changes the bill constitutes a serious affront to international human rights norms and our fundamental objections to legislation that sexual orientation or gender identity as a basis for criminal  t the spread of hiv aids and that mandatory reporting requirements will undermine the roles of religious leaders teachers health care providers lawyers parents and other sponsors of this bill phobic rhetoric religious appeals in various conspiracy theories to consolidate local support for this legislation claiming that uganda is traditional values are somehow threatened by foreign influence the most vocal supporters of channeled a significant domestic support some of the bill supporters of even call for uganda to reject development assistance from foreign nations that oppose this bill in order to avoid the rhetoric of this legislation most virulent supporters were focused on what is most  beneficial partnership with uganda and our policies are taken seriously and well received by many in the ugandan public we are major stakeholders in uganda having invested some five hundred twenty one million dollars in the country's economic development in two thousand and nine through a variety of foreign assistance programs including pepfar the chair mentioned proceed to the questions of desire thank you very much thank you very much madam chair and i'd like to thank chairman mcgovern also and ranking member  behavior it would make any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex in quote punishable by a minimum of seven years in prison and in cases of so called serial offenders and hiv positive individuals death this form of of discrimination is both deeply troubling as a piece of legislation an affront to the universal values of individual liberty and human rights among many offensive and dangerous provisions the antis homosexuals homosexuality act of two thousand and nine would force individuals to reveal the whereabouts of gays and lesbians to the police or  prosecution establish extraterritorial jurisdiction to prosecute lesbian gay bisexual and transgender ugandans living abroad criminalize l g b advocacy and limit the distribution of information on hiv prevention in response to this legislation i have joined my colleagues in sending two letters one to president obama expressing our concerns with the discriminatory nature and the second to the ugandan president urging him to support the legislation withdrawal i share secretary of state clinton and others in the human rights community that type of legislation could incite violence against uganda's community and further push this already marginalized population underground as the new york times reported are repeatedly treatment and care in this country the washington post called the anti homosexuality bill and i believe and of legislation i believe that is putting it mildly as a orientation such a measure goes far beyond an elitist and ignorant it is in its rawest form i welcome the testimony of the panelists who are here today to share their knowledge and look forward to hearing from each and every one of you thank you for allowing me this opportunity thank you secretary why cough i understand that you have had a handful of conversations president seventy sponsor of the anti homosexuality act is planning to travel to washington d c national prayer breakfast i'm wondering whether the state department has received a one i would say inc that based on our criteria of who gets visas and who doesn't that somebody leading a an effort to discriminate against a population would could be easily denied a visa and we did i people visas for for some time silly reasons but this is a this is a legitimate reason and i think would send a powerful signal that the united states stands out a lot on foursquare for human rights  and you know and we are not going to allow him the privilege in the ability of traveling to a conference where he can spread hate here in the united states so i mean i know you can't make a decision right now but i would respectfully that i think this is an important signal to send the question i have and i was interested in your opening statement when you said you know sometimes outside pressure can be counterproductive and i'm trying to understand if that is the case how best do we approach this and i think if we were silent then they would move ahead with this  d i understand that you know the sentiment sometimes in countries when others comment on their internal affairs that sometimes there is a there is a kind of a knee jerk reaction to do the exact opposite thing but you know i worry that when it comes to human rights sometimes we're too quiet and i think we need to make it very very clear that this is much more important that a trade agreement not at all i simply meant to acknowledge the dynamic that's playing out in uganda and i would just emphasize as i hope i've made clear that our goal is to be effective in this process and to have legislation passed from the scene without being  additional question relating to the refugee situation in uganda according to the office of the united nations high commissioner for refugees uganda currently hosts over one hundred fifty thousand refugees from the democratic republic of congo sudan and other african countries given the pervasive homophobia that we discussed in uganda and existing laws which criminalize same sex conduct donor to the united nations high commissioner for refugees and obviously a primary development partner in uganda can you describe how the u s together with the u n high commission on refugees appreciated thank you again for your time in your testimony you are hereby excused as a witness and i will call the second panel to the  is the founder and program director of the support initiative for people with atypical sex development as a side grassroots organization in uganda that promotes the health and human rights of children and people with a typical sex development is joined by carry on johnson executive director of the international gay and lesbian human rights commission mr johnson is an author and activist with more than twenty years of experience in the l g b team movement and in african social and economic development he has worked in management positions for amnesty international u parenthood in southern africa mr johnson holds a master's degree in international affairs and a certificate in african studies from columbia university and has written numerous articles on gender and sexuality in africa reverend coma project director of political research associate reverend colma is also an anglican priest from zambia diocese of massachusetts a doctoral candidate at boston university's school of theology he has studied in evangelical schools in zambia and the united kingdom from  in diversity from two thousand and one to two thousand and two he was academic dean of st john's anglican seminary in them be a where he launched its women's studies and church school training has more than twenty years of federal policy analysis and advocacy experience in washington d c where her primary focus has been health policy prior to joining i d s in one nine hundred ninety eight christine  served as deputy executive director for the program at aids action council a national aids advocacy group for more than five years she was the lead policy spokesperson for aids action and lead federal advocacy community outreach and media advocacy program we are delighted to have all of you here this afternoon and i would start off with recognizing how for your testimony nine times in that country's history neighboring rwanda discussed a similar law but withdrew its consideration prior to a vote by parliament uganda and the democratic republic of congo passed constitutional amendments to make to criminalize same sex marriage though existing laws already prevented same sex marriage and there was no activism countries to advocate for such marriages and in nigeria africa's most populous populous nation twice now introduced legislation that would make organizing for gay rights a crime in the last year alone my organization has documented the arbitrary arrest and detention of discrimination in the areas of employment education and housing which are rampant in light of such human rights violations uganda's anti homosexuality bill is especially restrictive in violent criminal promotion of homosexuality requiring people to report those they suspect violating the law and punishing some groups including those who are hiv positive or those euphemistically called repeat offenders with the death penalty the bill if an act into law would violate so many articles of the african charter of human and people's rights and the international covenant on civil and political rights to both of which uganda is legally committed that the drafters of the bill needed to include an article that would allow uganda to opt out of its membership in the world human rights mechanism even adherence to the ugandan constitution would become a mockery if this law were passed particularly article twenty and constitution which promises freedom discrimination on the grounds of race sex color ethnic origin tribe birth creed or religion social or economic standing political opinion or disability the lack of an unequivocal condemnation of the bill by the ugandan government by the east african community of states and even by the african union has already done grave damage crimes are based on confidence by the perpetrators that violence against marginalized members of society will be met with silence or even approval by the state how many l g b to uganda to have already lost their jobs already been expelled from schools or have based violence as a result of simply the debate as to whether homosexuality should be punished by death how is such a debate even possible in a democratic society ensuring human rights of sexual minorities is perhaps the truest barometer of the full integration of human rights principles in the society because there enshrining in law and integration into societal norms and practices are not always a matter of popular opinion instead ensuring basic rights for people represent an acceptance of a belief in the human dignity of each and every person the killing torture imprisonment and expulsion of millions of ugandans under the first and second regimes under means in the context of the war in the north of the country should have provided plenty of evidence to ugandans that targeting individuals because of their identity is destructive to the national unity and economic growth that all ugandans desire and deserve uganda has been one of the united states closest partners in africa for more than twenty years and the u s government has many options at its disposal to express its disapproval with the  homosexuality bill we have been heartened by the statements of assistant secretary carson secretary of state clinton and by president obama himself and by the actions of many members of the congress we believe that pressure must be maintained to make clear to the ugandan government that simply removing the most egregious aspects of the bill such as the death penalty will not make this legislation any less destructive we further believe that the department of state and the administration should use its good offices to encourage african governments and the african union itself to speak up against the bill particularly among the signatories to the december two thousand and eight un general assembly statement to which the to break the silence that has somehow prevented them from condemning one of the most retrograde pieces of legislation to garner serious consideration by an african state in a long long time as a game out of african descent i would sex attraction and gender nonconforming unfortunate remnants of colonialism or neo colonial plot to undermine african family african american gays and lesbians were confronted with a similar argument when we began to suspected of having a diverse sexual orientation or gender identity this legislation is a blueprint for the type that a country like cannot afford and which the world community cannot abide thank you proactive by ensuring that funding is available to provide outreach services to m s m and other vulnerable groups to engage them in prevention and treatment services that can literally save their lives performance indicators  human rights protections and targeted prevention programs are critical ingredient to any successful to ultimately end the deadly epidemic both here in the us and in the developing world thank you very much thank you for your testimony thank you all for your testimony before we start the first round of questioning i'm going to ask unanimous consent to make the written testimony of each of our witnesses this afternoon as a part of the official record and in addition again thank you so much for coming so far to present testimony today powerfully described the personal impact that bill's introduction has had on you and your family and  sexual minorities in uganda and also given us a great description of the coalition that has come together to mount a campaign  about the u s efforts in trying to halt the progress of of this legislation but he noted in his testimony and my colleague questioned him on this point are there ever instances where outside pressure can be counterproductive can serve to bolster the resolve of those who are pushing this legislation and i want to offer each of you the opportunity to respond to those arguments you have each proposed things that this country can do you have any concerns  it i think my colleague said it very well and we're very much committed to ensuring that local voices and regional voices are heard on this and as i mentioned in my testimony i think that that would be one aspect in which ministration could be more proactive in terms of talking to other african nations and talking to the african union about making its voice heard on this legislation  it's all a question of how we express our point of view who expresses that point of view on behalf of our government president obama's stature in africa is unparalleled compared to any other u s president in recent history boyce carries great weight the voices of the congressional black caucus could carry great weight on this so i think there are important statements that need to be coming from our that our government has a responsibility to ensure that the tremendous resources made available to uganda are really reaching the people in need and are being used for evidence prevention send a message to our own government to remain vigilant about these issues comment and then one question before i turn to my colleague for questions i want to underscore also the power of local voices and we would have loved to have had  a number of people from uganda to express and share with the world their stories there are other ways to do that and we would like to work with you in the future too to get those out and made today as well as in the media about the anti gay seminar which i believe occurred last march i understand it was attended by perhaps thousands  information to document increased violence increased harassment increased or discrimination associated with that time period and thereafter statement statements opposing the legislation has word got out about that has it hasn't made any difference has it persuaded the sponsors in any way what impact if any has has that funds from foreign governments they make other commitments to as part of human rights regimes if they fail to live up to and respect those regimes and i think there need to be consequences in there and there are multiple ways in which those consequences can happen ugandan members of parliament and members of government enjoy traveling to the united states there are issues around provisions of i think with regard to dollars and cents actual funding there may be ways of legislation and better conditions generally and i'm particularly inspired by your comments of how we can make investments in empowering the local