Issues facing LGBT people in sub-Saharan Africa: suggested reading

Standard Note: Last updated: Author: Section SN/IA/6043 29 July 2011 Tim Robinson and Jon Lunn International Affairs and Defence Section

Over the last decade, there has been a gradual increase in awareness in the UK about the human rights abuses being experienced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people across sub-Saharan Africa. Many of these abuses are at the hands of the authorities, but religious leaders and traditional forces within civil society play a major role in perpetuating and deepening ideas that such expressions of human identity and sexuality are un-African. There is a growing community of activists campaigning for change across the sub-continent. Their activities mean that they are often particular targets of harassment and violence. Many African states retain criminal sanctions for same-sex relationships that derive from the colonial era. In a few cases, there have recently been moves to strengthen those sanctions. Removing such criminal sanctions from the statute book remains very much an up-hill struggle. This introductory bibliographical note gathers together a selection of press articles and official and civil society sources of information about the issue. It includes links to recent key UK Government documents on the promotion of the rights and equality of LGBT people, including in sub-Saharan Africa. The note is not comprehensive and will not be automatically updated.

This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. It should not be relied upon as being up to date; the law or policies may have changed since it was last updated; and it should not be relied upon as legal or professional advice or as a substitute for it. A suitably qualified professional should be consulted if specific advice or information is required. This information is provided subject to our general terms and conditions which are available online or may be provided on request in hard copy. Authors are available to discuss the content of this briefing with Members and their staff, but not with the general public.

Contents
1.1 International law and standards 1.2 Background and analysis 1.3 Country situations Uganda Kenya Nigeria Ghana Malawi Cameroon Botswana Sierra Leone Zimbabwe South Africa 1.4 UK official sources 1.5 Sources about other governments and intergovernmental organisations 1.6 Links to relevant civil society organisations The Yogyakarta Principles an Overview 3 4 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 9

1.1

International law and standards

Human rights treaties do not specifically mention sexual orientation. However, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation has been determined to be incompatible with adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Given that international law often emerges over time as principles and standards take on greater weight and force, the 2006 Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity may become an increasingly important point of departure within the international community. These Principles were drafted, with the sponsorship of the United Nations (UN) and a number of international human rights organisations, by a panel of experts. Although they are not legally binding on States, the Principles affirm the primary obligation of States to implement human rights. Each Principle is accompanied by detailed recommendations to States. The Principles also emphasise that all actors have responsibilities to promote and protect human rights. Additional recommendations are therefore addressed to the UN human rights system, national human rights institutions, the media, non-governmental organisations, and others. See Appendix 1 for an overview of the Principles. In March 2011, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva 85 countries endorsed a Joint Statement entitled Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based On Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. According to a press release by the US Department of State (which includes the full text of the Joint Statement):
This followed previous statements on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons issued at the United Nations, including a 2006 statement by 54 countries at the Human Rights Council, and a 2008 statement that has garnered 67 countries support at the General Assembly. The United States is amongst the signatory states to both previous efforts. The United States co-chaired the core group of countries that have worked to submit this statement, along with Colombia and Slovenia.

Then, in June 2011, the UN Human Rights Council voted in favour of a resolution entitled, Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity (UN Document A/HRC/17/L.9/Rev1). While considerably weaker than the March 2011 Joint Statement, campaigners nonetheless welcomed the passing of the resolution, which they hailed as the first by a UN body to explicitly express grave concern at acts of acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Below is the full text of the resolution:
The Human Rights Council, Recalling the universality, interdependence, indivisibility and interrelatedness of human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and consequently elaborated in other human rights instruments, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other relevant core human rights instruments, Recallling also that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in that Declaration, without distinction of any kind,

such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status; Recalling further General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, in which the Assembly stated that the Human Rights Council should be responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in fair and equal manner, Expressing grave concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity 1. Requests the High Commissioner to commission a study to be finalised by December 2011, to document discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, in all regions of the world, and how international human rights law can be used to end violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity;
th 2. Decides to convene a panel discussion during the 19 session of the Human Rights Council, informed by the facts contained in the study commissioned by the High Commissioner and to have constructive, informed and transparent dialogue on the issue of discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity;

3. Decides also that the panel will also discuss the appropriate follow-up to the recommendations of the study commissioned by the High Commissioner; 4. Decides to remain seized of this priority issue.

The Resolution was passed only narrowly, by 23 votes to 19. Of the African states currently sitting on the Human Rights Council, Angola, Cameroon, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda voted against the Resolution, while Burkina Faso and Zambia abstained. This voting pattern confirms that there remains a long way to go before African states are prepared fully to accept that their LGBT citizens are entitled to basic human rights. 1.2 Background and analysis

According to a May 2011 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) entitled State Sponsored Homophobia A World Survey of Laws Criminalising Same-Sex Sexual Acts Between Consenting Adults same-sex sexual acts were, at that time, legal (or not criminalised) in the following sub-Saharan African states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Cte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda and South Africa. Homosexual acts were illegal in the following sub-Saharan African states Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, So Tom and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Homosexual acts were punished with the death penalty in Mauritania, Sudan, parts of southern Somalia and 12 northern states of Nigeria. Below are a range of useful sources which provide further background and analysis on LGBT issues in sub-Saharan Africa. International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Nowhere to Turn: Blackmail and Extortion of LGBT People in Sub-Saharan Africa, 15 February 2011 Marc Epprecht, Heterosexual Africa? - Notes from the struggle for sexual rights, www.africanarguments.org 10 February 2011 Heinrich Boll Stiftung South Africa, Conference report - Struggle for equality: Sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights in Africa, November 2010 Radio Netherlands, The state were in being gay in Africa, January 2010 radio programme (50 minutes duration) Marc Epprecht, Heterosexual Africa? The Story of an Idea from the Age of Exploration to the Age of Aids (Ohio University Press and Swallow Press, 2008) [Publishers blurb: Heterosexual Africa? aims to understand an enduring stereotype about Africa and Africans. It asks how Africa came to be defined as a homosexual-free zone during the colonial era, and how this idea not only survived the transition to independence but flourished under conditions of globalization and early panicky responses to HIV/AIDS.]

1.3

Country situations

In this section, a range of sources are provided on the country situations in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, Cameroon, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The absence of a country from this section does not mean that there are no issues for LGBT people in those countries. Nor is this section necessarily comprehensive or fully-up-to-date in its coverage of the issues covered in the source. Our purpose is simply to provide a sample of the kinds of issues which LGBT people face across sub-Saharan Africa. Uganda Uganda: Anti-homosexuality bill is inherently discriminatory and threatens broader human rights, Amnesty International, 2010 US condemns odious Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill, Pink News, 13 May 2011 Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain is lobbying Uganda over anti-gay bill, Pink News, 10 May 2011 My life as a gay Ugandan, Kasha Jacqueline, Pambazuka Newsletter, 17 February 2011 Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato killed, BBC, 27 January 2011 Judge bans Ugandan media from outing gays and lesbians, Pink News, 4 January 2011

Kenya Clerics seek harsher laws for gays, Daily Nation, 28 July 2011 Report urges end to laws criminalising homosexuality, ILGA, 2011 The Outlawed Amongst Us, Kenyan Human Rights Commission, 2011

Nigeria FIFA criticises Nigerias football coach over lesbian ban, Pink News, 1 July 2011 Nigerias Anglican Church calls for pull out from UN, changingattitude.org.uk, 28 June 2011 Nigeria's gay church is reborn amid a climate of fear, Guardian, 24 April, 2011 Nigeria gay activists speak out, BBC, 11 March 2009 Ghana Ghana official calls for effort to 'round up' suspected gays, Independent, 22 July 2011 Muslims petition government over growing rate of homosexuals, Myjoyonline.com, 1 June 2011 8,000 homosexuals in 2 regions; Majority infected with HIV/AIDs, myjoyonline.com, 31 May 2011

Malawi Malawian Gay Couple Pardon Draws Praise, Voice of America, 30 May 2011 Malawi gap couple get maximum sentence of 14 years, BBC, 20 May 2010

Cameroon Amnesty fights for Cameroonian man jailed for three years on charges of being gay, Pink News, 7 June 2011 Criminalizing identities: rights abuses in Cameroon based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights Watch report, November 2010 Cameroon denies homosexuals face persecution, BBC, 8 July 2010

Botswana Sticky sodomy case has Botswana gays flustered, Times, 16 March 2011 Gays sue Government, Behind the Mask, 23 February 2011 Botswana MP says he hates gays and lesbians, Pink News, 11 February 2011

Sierra Leone Activists give conflicting views on gay party arrests, ILGA, 2011

Zimbabwe Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe calls Britain gay filth, Pink News, 14 April 2011

South Africa South Africas lesbians fear corrective rape, BBC 30 June 2011 The South African women living in fear of rape, Guardian, 14 May 2011

1.4

UK official sources

The FCO has a web page on LGBT rights, setting out the position of the UK Government on the issue. In June 2010, the UK Government published Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality to guide our future work both at home and abroad. This will ensure a more co-ordinated approach across the Government and includes an unequivocal commitment to support gay rights internationally. See also the November 2008 FCO Programme for promoting the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people, which includes an LGBT Toolkit, which has been distributed to all Embassies and High Commissions to assist them in their advocacy work on the issue. After the Yogyakarta Principles (see above) were made public, the previous British Government welcomed them, although it noted that the Principles went further than the UK position in some regards. No mention is made of the Principles in the above official documents. In June 2011, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, hosted his second reception for the LGBT community in the UK. Below is a press report, which also includes the full text of his speech, in which he discussed the situation of LGBT people in sub-Saharan Africa: David Cameron says UK will pressure Africa on gay rights, Pink News, 22 June 2011 Issues facing LGBT people in sub-Saharan Africa have been raised in the British Parliament. For example, see the recent Westminster Hall Adjournment Debate on the murder of the Ugandan activist David Kato (HC Deb 2 March 2011 c99-106WH).

1.5

Sources about other governments and intergovernmental organisations

Lesego Tihwale, Is the African Commission dictated to by religious and political leaders on sexual minorities?, www.mask.org.za, 2010 Peter Tatchell, The Commonwealth is a bastion of homophobia, Pink News, 17 May 2011

Commonwealth Secretary-General speaks out against homophobia following Tatchells criticisms, Pink News, 1 June 2011 US House Committee approves measure for aid cut to anti-gay countries, Pink News, 18 March 2011 Declaration by the Coalition of African Lesbians to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, Rights to redress & state accountability: responding to violence against sexual minorities in Africa, 11 March 2010 1.6 Links to relevant civil society organisations

Below are links to the websites of a range of relevant civil society organisations working on issues affecting LGBT people in sub-Saharan Africa: Coalition of African Lesbians [based in South Africa] 1 Minority Women in Action [Kenya] Horizon Community Association [Rwanda] Sexual Minorities Uganda INCRESE [Nigeria] BONELA [Botswana] The rainbow project [Namibia] Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe Behind the Mask [Pan-African sexual rights website based in South Africa] International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association - Africa 2 Amnesty International LGBT network Human Rights Watch web page on LGBT issues International Commission of Jurists [includes documents relating to LGBT]

Here is a list of its member organisations; here is a page of links to other organisations active on LGBT issues in sub-Saharan Africa] ILGA-Africas parent body, ILGA, won consultative status to the UN Economic and Social Council. International Gay and Lesbian Association finally wins UN accreditation, Pink News, 26 July 2011

The Yogyakarta Principles an Overview 3

The Yogyakarta Principles address a broad range of international human rights standards and their application to issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. This Overview provides a short outline of the Principles, and some examples of their application. Please refer to the Principles themselves for a detailed awareness of the text. Preamble: The Preamble acknowledges human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, establishes the relevant legal framework, and provides definitions of key terms. Rights to Universal Enjoyment of Human Rights, Non-Discrimination and Recognition before the Law: Principles 1 to 3 set out the principles of the universality of human rights and their application to all persons without discrimination, as well as the right of all people to recognition before the law. Example: Laws criminalising homosexuality violate the international right to non-discrimination (decision of the UN Human Rights Committee). Rights to Human and Personal Security: Principles 4 to 11 address fundamental rights to life, freedom from violence and torture, privacy, access to justice and freedom from arbitrary detention. Examples: The death penalty continues to be applied for consensual adult sexual activity between persons of the same sex, despite UN resolutions emphasizing that the death penalty may not be imposed for sexual relations between consenting adults. Eleven men were arrested in a gay bar and held in custody for over a year. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that the men were detained in violation of international law, noting with concern that one of the prisoners died as a result of his arbitrary detention. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Principles 12 to 18 set out the importance of nondiscrimination in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including employment, accommodation, social security, education and health. Examples: Lesbian and transgender women are at increased risk of discrimination, homelessness and violence (report of UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing). Girls who display same-sex affection face discrimination and expulsion from educational institutions (report of UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education). The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern about laws which prohibit gender reassignment surgery for transsexuals or require intersex persons to undergo such surgery against their will.

Available at: http://www.yogyakartaprinciples.org/principles_en.htm

Rights to Expression, Opinion and Association: Principles 19 to 21 emphasise the importance of the freedom to express oneself, ones identity and ones sexuality, without State interference based on sexual orientation or gender identity, including the rights to participate peaceably in public assemblies and events and otherwise associate in community with others. Example: A peaceful gathering to promote equality on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity was banned by authorities, and participants were harassed and intimidated by police and extremist nationalists shouting slogans such as Lets get the fags and Well do to you what Hitler did with Jews (report of the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia & related intolerance). Freedom of Movement and Asylum: Principles 22 and 23 highlight the rights of persons to seek asylum from persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Example: Refugee protection should be accorded to persons facing a well-founded fear of persecution based on sexual orientation (Guidelines of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Rights of Participation in Cultural and Family Life: Principles 24 to 26 address the rights of persons to participate in family life, public affairs and the cultural life of their community, without discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Example: States have an obligation not to discriminate between different-sex and same-sex relationships in allocating partnership benefits such as survivors pensions (decision of the UN Human Rights Committee). Rights of Human Rights Defenders: Principle 27 recognises the right to defend and promote human rights without discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the obligation of States to ensure the protection of human rights defenders working in these areas. Examples: Human rights defenders working on sexual orientation and gender identity issues in countries and regions around the world have been threatened, had their houses and offices raided, they have been attacked, tortured, sexually abused, tormented by regular death threats and even killed. A major concern in this regard is an almost complete lack of seriousness with which such cases are treated by the concerned authorities. (report of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders). Rights of Redress and Accountability: Principles 28 and 29 affirm the importance of holding rights violators accountable, and ensuring appropriate redress for those who face rights violations.

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Example: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern about impunity for crimes of violence against LGBT persons and the responsibility of the State to extend effective protection. The High Commissioner notes that excluding LGBT individuals from these protections clearly violates international human rights law as well as the common standards of humanity that define us all. Additional Recommendations: The Principles set out 16 additional recommendations to national human rights institutions, professional bodies, funders, NGOs, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN agencies, treaty bodies, Special Procedures, and others. Example: The Principles conclude by recognising the responsibility of a range of actors to promote and protect human rights and to integrate these standards into their work. A joint statement delivered at the UN Human Rights Council by 54 States from four of the five UN regions on 1 December 2006, for example, urges the Human Rights Council to pay due attention to human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity and commends the work of civil society in this area, and calls upon all Special Procedures and treaty bodies to continue to integrate consideration of human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity within their relevant mandates. As this statement recognises, and the Yogyakarta Principles affirm, effective human rights protection truly is the responsibility of all.

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