Britain and Canada today led Commonwealth protests against a law proposed by the Ugandan parliament which would introduce the death penalty by hanging for “aggravated homosexuality”.
Gordon Brown, Britain’s Prime Minister, expressed his country’s concerns about the parliamentary bill when he met Yoweri Museveni, the veteran Ugandan president, at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago, reports the Guardian.
The suggested legislation would apply to sex between gay men or lesbian women in which one person has HIV.
The bill also proposes the introduction of a three-year prison sentence for anyone who knows of the existence of a gay man or lesbian woman and fails to inform authorities in Uganda within 24 hours.
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The British prime minister’s anger was echoed by his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper. Harper’s spokesman, Dimitri Soudas, said: “If adopted, a bill further criminalizing homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda.”
Gay rights groups have urged Commonwealth leaders to throw Uganda out of the Commonwealth unless it drops the proposed law.
Human rights groups around the world have called for the proposed new laws on homosexuality in Uganda to be scrapped immediately.
More from The Guardian.
Earlier posts:
Human rights groups denounce Uganda’s proposed death penalty for homosexuality
Uganda considers anti-gay bill, death penalty for ’serial offenders’
