Protecting the human rights of sexual minorities in contemporary Africa

This collection of essays, Protecting the human rights of sexual minorities in contemporary Africa, contains papers that were first presented at a colloquium on sexual minority rights in Africa, which took place at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, in December 2014. This event was made possible with the generous support of the Government of the Kingdom of Norway, through its Embassy in South Africa. These papers were subsequently peer-reviewed and reworked. Viewing homosexuality through a legal and rights-based prism, this volume brings together fourteen essays focusing on various aspects of homosexuality, covering a wide rage of countries from across the continent. The situation in nine countries (Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe) is reviewed; while other contributions are more regional in their perspective. This makes this publication one of the most comprehensive collections of African voices on this topic. For too long African voices have been silent on the fledgling discourse on sexual minorities. This volume seeks to amend this shortcoming. The editors and authors and contributors are not only African, but also, with a few exceptions, graduates of the Centre’s Master’s programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa. The publisher is an African-based publisher, the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), based at the Centre for Human Rights

The Implications of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 on Uganda's Legal System

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 (AHB or the bill) was controversial right from the time of its inception. Its tabling in Uganda’s parliament in October 2009 was greatly welcomed by some religious leaders and sections of the population, while at the same time, it was vehemently opposed by some human rights organisations in Uganda and abroad. The provisions of the bill pose a threat to the fundamental rights and freedoms of all persons in Uganda regardless of their sexual orientation, but far more so for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons. Beyond the violations of human rights that are envisaged if the bill becomes law, the bill also poses unique questions for lawyers and the legal system as regards its implementation and how it impacts on established principles of law and criminal justice. This paper analyses the implications of the bill on Uganda’s legal system. It discusses the contents of the AHB, traces its background as well as its current status, analyses the legal issues that are likely to arise if it becomes law, discusses the legal issues that are already arising with the bill still a bill, and finally discusses some of the positive aspects of the bill.DFI

Achieving Social Justice through Social Economic Rights Litigation

Human rights defenders are increasingly using to seek social justice. However, opponents have always expressed some disquiet on the suitability of courts in the adjudication of socio-economic rights, which have been deemed as disputes involving the distribution of socio-economic goods and services and, therefore, a prerogative of the political arms of government. Courts and other (quasi)judicial institutions have been said not to have sufficient expertise, information, nor the democratic legitimacy to interfere in the decisions relating to the policy choices that have to be made in the fulfilment of socio-economic rights. Advocates for the (quasi)judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights have, on the other hand, been convinced. This has been instrumental in several jurisdictions, including South Africa, Colombia, India and the United States, to advance constitutionally guaranteed rights, including the right to health, education, water, and housing. Increasingly, international and regional human rights adjudicative bodies have also become involved in the adjudication of socio-economic rights and have made significant contributions to the normative development of socio-economic rights as well as providing substantive redress to victims. Whereas socio-economic rights litigation is an attractive avenue for social transformation, critics are doubtful of the extent to which litigation can contribute to social change and achieve social justice. With this background in mind, this round table brings together scholars, activists, researchers, and lawyers from Africa, Latin America and India to discuss whether socio-economic rights litigation is a pragmatic strategy for safeguarding the right of every human person to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all persons can freely and fully realize their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The discussion shall examine socio-economic rights litigation and its potential to contribute to a new future of changing political, economic, feminist, and cultural engagement around Africa and people of African descent in the US and globall

Envisioning global LGBT human rights : (neo)colonialism, neoliberalism, resistance and hope

Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights: (Neo)colonialism, Neoliberalism, Resistance and Hope is an outcome of a five-year international collaboration among partners that share a common legacy of British colonial laws that criminalise same-sex intimacy and gender identity/expression. The project sought to facilitate learning from each other and to create outcomes that would advance knowledge and social justice. The project was unique, combining research and writing with participatory documentary filmmaking. This visionary politics infuses the pages of the anthology. The chapters are bursting with invaluable first hand insights from leading activists at the forefront of some of the most fiercely fought battlegrounds of contemporary sexual politics in India, the Caribbean and Africa. As well, authors from Canada, Botswana and Kenya examine key turning points in the advancement of SOGI issues at the United Nations, and provide critical insights on LGBT asylum in Canada. Authors also speak to a need to reorient and decolonise queer studies, and turn a critical gaze northwards from the Global South. It is a book for activists and academics in a range of disciplines from postcolonial and sexualities studies to filmmaking, as well as for policy-makers and practitioners committed to envisioning, and working for, a better future

"Se continuarmos trabalhando, como eles poderão vencer": estratégias de uma organização ugandesa de direitos das minorias para resistir ao encolhimento do espaço civil

- Edição trilíngue: português, espanhol e inglês.- Título em espanhol: "Si tan solo seguimos trabajando, ¿como pueden ellos ganar?": estrategias de una organización ugandesa por los derechos de las minorías para resistir a la reducción del espacio cívico- Título em inglês: "If we just keep working, how can they win?": strategies to resist shrinking civic space from a Ugandan minority rights organisatio

Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the The Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change.

Human rights in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity are at last reaching the heart of global debates. Yet 78 states worldwide continue to criminalise same-sex sexual behaviour, and due to the legal legacies of the British Empire, 42 of these – more than half – are in the Commonwealth of Nations. In recent years many states have seen the emergence of new sexual nationalisms, leading to increased enforcement of colonial sodomy laws against men, new criminalisations of sex between women and discrimination against transgender people. "Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in The Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change" challenges these developments as the first book to focus on experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) and all non-heterosexual people in the Commonwealth. The volume offers the most internationally extensive analysis to date of the global struggle for decriminalisation of same-sex sexual behaviour and relationship