The East African country’s President Yoweri Museveni signed a law on Monday that makes “homosexual acts” punishable by life imprisonment or, in extreme cases, the death penalty.
The law violates Uganda’s international commitments on human rights and non-discrimination, according to Paulina Brandberg:
— We are deeply concerned and see this as a completely unacceptable restriction of human rights for LGBTQI people and we will follow the developments on this issue very closely, especially how this new law is implemented.
TT: Does the law affect Swedish aid in any way?
— Sweden has no state-to-state aid to Uganda today. The aid we provide is channeled through the UN, the World Bank and civil society organisations, the minister replies.
The law has drawn sharp international criticism. In April, the European Parliament condemned it and called on the European Commission to “use all necessary diplomacy, legal and financial, to convince the president not to sign the law”.
The United States has also threatened economic consequences.
The UN Human Rights Council considers the law “a recipe for systematic abuse”.
— I think it is extremely important that when Uganda now takes measures like this, which are incredibly far-reaching and really restrict human rights, that other countries react and mark. And Sweden does. We have conveyed to Uganda how seriously we view this, says Paulina Brandberg.