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Ugandan president distances himself from "cruel" anti-gay bill
Date: 14 January 2010
Source: IRIN PlusNews
Ugandan President Museveni will not back a bill that would impose the death sentence for the crime of "aggravated homosexuality" - when an HIV-positive person has sex with anyone who is disabled or under the age of 18. Museveni appears to have bowed to international pressure, telling members of his ruling party that the British Prime Minister, Canadian Prime Minister and US Secretary of State had all urged him to ensure the controversial bill does not go ahead. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill (2009) - introduced as a private member's bill in October 2009 - would also force people accused of aggravated homosexuality to undergo HIV tests, and would impose prison sentences or heavy fines on people who fail to report homosexual activity. Rights groups and health workers have expressed relief that the bill is unlikely to be passed in its current form. Men who have sex with men have never been included in Uganda's national HIV/AIDS response, mainly because of existing laws outlawing homosexuality. A 2009 study recommended that legal impediments to their inclusion be reviewed.
