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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1324 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1324

       Condemning Uganda's undemocratic human rights regression.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2024

   Mr. Takano (for himself, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. 
 Ramirez, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Moulton, Ms. 
 Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Mr. Torres of New 
York, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Sherman, Ms. 
Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Balint, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Gottheimer, 
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia, and Mr. Nadler) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
       Condemning Uganda's undemocratic human rights regression.

Whereas, since 1986, Uganda has been led by President Yoweri Museveni;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State 2023 Human Rights 
        Report, human rights issues in Uganda included credible reports of 
        extrajudicial killings, forced disappearance, torture by government 
        agencies, serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, 
        censorship, interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and 
        association, crimes involving violence or threats targeting lesbian, 
        gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) persons, human 
        rights defenders, journalists, and other marginalized populations, and 
        the existence of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct 
        between adults;
Whereas consensual same-sex sexual conduct has been illegal in Uganda according 
        to a colonial-era law that criminalizes ``carnal knowledge of any person 
        against the order of nature'', carrying a punishment of up to life 
        imprisonment;
Whereas, in December 2013, the Parliament of Uganda passed the country's first 
        Anti-Homosexuality Act that broadened the criminalization of consensual 
        same-sex sexual relations and penalties for individuals, companies, and 
        nongovernmental organizations that aid, abet, counsel, or procures 
        another to ``engage in acts of homosexuality'';
Whereas, in 2014, President Yoweri Museveni signed into law the Anti-
        Homosexuality Act;
Whereas international condemnation was immediate in response to the 2014 Ugandan 
        law;
Whereas the United States issued aid, police, travel, and military sanctions 
        against Uganda in response to the Anti-Homosexuality Act;
Whereas the Constitutional Court of Uganda ruled the act invalid on procedural 
        grounds;
Whereas, in March 2023, the Parliament of Uganda introduced and passed a new 
        version of the Anti-Homosexuality Act that mirrored the legislation 
        signed into law in 2014 and introduced the death penalty even for some 
        consensual acts;
Whereas, in April 2023, President Museveni returned the Anti-Homosexuality Act 
        to the Parliament of Uganda for unsubstantial revisions;
Whereas, on May 2, 2023, the Parliament of Uganda passed an amended version of 
        the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which maintained harsh penalties;
Whereas, on May 26, 2023, President Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act;
Whereas the Anti-Homosexuality Act includes, among other things, life 
        imprisonment for consensual same-sex sexual conduct, the death penalty 
        for individuals who commit the ``offence of homosexuality'' under 
        certain circumstances, and 20 years of imprisonment for the ``promotion 
        of homosexuality,'' which includes operating an organization that 
        ``promotes or encourages homosexuality or the observance and 
        normalization of [homosexual] conduct'';
Whereas, on May 29, 2023, President Biden stated that ``the enactment of 
        Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act is a tragic violation of universal human 
        rights . . . that jeopardizes the prospects of critical economic growth 
        for the entire country'' and followed that statement by restricting 
        Uganda's trade privileges, enacting new sanctions and visa restrictions, 
        reducing direct support to the Government of Uganda, and increasing 
        assistance to victims of human rights abuse;
Whereas the joint statement by the leaders of the Global Fund, the United 
        Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for 
        AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) on Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act stated that the 
        Anti-Homosexuality Act ``will obstruct health education and the outreach 
        that can help end AIDS as a public health threat'' and that ``LGBTQI+ 
        people in Uganda increasingly fear for their safety and security, and 
        increasing numbers of people are being discouraged from seeking vital 
        health services for fear of attack, punishment and further 
        marginalization'';
Whereas, in August 2023, the World Bank announced that it would pause all 
        lending to Uganda, stating that the Anti-Homosexuality Act 
        ``fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group's values,'' and that 
        their ``vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed 
        if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality'';
Whereas the Anti-Homosexuality Act has had severe impacts on LGBTQI+ Ugandans 
        through its government-sanctioned violence, societal vigilantism, and 
        further marginalization of those perceived or actual LGBTQI+ 
        individuals;
Whereas under the legal enforcement of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which began 
        in September 2023, human rights groups on the ground reported a marked 
        uptick within the last 8 months in police violence, harassment, assault, 
        evictions, job loss, and arrests of LGBTQI+ persons and individuals 
        believed to be LGBTQI+, including--

    (1) over 434 cases of evictions;

    (2) 69 arrests;

    (3) 309 cases of violence, including physical violence, forced outing, 
threats, online attacks, police raids, and blackmail and extortion;

    (4) 108 cases of violations of an individual's civil liberties and 
right to freedom from discrimination, including loss of employment, 
exclusion from social services, family rejection, and denial of a passport; 
and

    (5) 1253 total human rights violations and abuses;

Whereas the Anti-Homosexuality Act has had a negative impact on health service 
        providers and limited access to health care for LGBTQI+ persons, 
        including denial of services to LGBTQI+ patients and a reluctance on the 
        part of LGBTQI+ Ugandans to seek care for fear of being reported to the 
        police;
Whereas the impact on seeking and delivery of HIV/AIDS-related services has been 
        particularly acute for LGBTQI+ persons due to fear of being reported to 
        law enforcement;
Whereas reports from community members indicate that landlords and hoteliers 
        continue to evict members of the LGBTQI+ community and LGBTQI+ 
        organizations from properties due to the threat of prosecution for 
        housing someone who violates one of the many provisions of the Anti-
        Homosexuality Act, increasing LGBTQI+ persons' challenge to find safe 
        housing;
Whereas, on April 3, 2024, the Constitutional Court of Uganda ruled that all but 
        two sections and two subsections of the Anti-Homosexuality Act were 
        constitutional, upholding the Act as the law of the land and entrenching 
        its disregard of Ugandans' rights and their life, liberty, freedom, and 
        equality; and
Whereas the dangers posed by this democratic backsliding are a threat to 
        everyone residing in Uganda, including foreign government personnel, the 
        staff of nongovernmental organization implementing partners, visitors 
        and tourists, members of the business community, and Ugandans 
        themselves: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the Government of Uganda's criminalization and 
        draconian punishments regarding consensual same-sex sexual 
        conduct and so-called ``promotion of homosexuality'';
            (2) calls on the Government of Uganda to expeditiously 
        repeal the Anti-Homosexuality Act; and
            (3) supports the continuation of existing sanctions imposed 
        with respect to the Government of Uganda, including 
        restrictions on visas to enter the United States for current 
        and former Ugandan officials involved in repressing 
        marginalized populations, business and travel advisories with 
        respect to activities in Uganda, and reduction of support to 
        the Government of Uganda, until the Anti-Homosexuality Act is 
        repealed.
                                 <all>
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