Homophobic Ugandan Bill Demonizes People with HIV

Remarks by Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World delivered at the Commonwealth People's Forum on the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 10:00 a.m., Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago:

It’s one thing to talk about the promotion of the ‘traditional family’ as the author of the Bill does ad nauseam; it’s quite another thing to incite the promotion of disease and murder. Gays and lesbians don’t challenge traditional families; their private sexual practices don’t invade the sanctity of family life. The accusation is a vile canard. People who plead the supremacy of family values over other human values have one of two motives: either they’re biblical fundamentalists whose religiosity has gone haywire, or they’re so steeped in irrational fear of different sexual orientation that human rights have no meaning. 

This is a moment of truth for the Commonwealth. The anti-homosexuality Private Member’s Bill introduced into the parliament of Uganda, and now proceeding through the normal legislative process, puts the Commonwealth’s legitimacy and integrity to the test.

In a fashion unmistakable in both clarity and intent, the putative legislation declares war on homosexuality. There are deeply offensive sodomy laws and homophobic statutes on the books of many other Commonwealth countries, particularly here in the Caribbean. But nothing is as stark, punitive and redolent of hate as the Bill in Uganda; nothing comes close to such an omnibus violation of the human rights of sexual minorities. For some time now, Uganda has had offensive anti-homosexual legislation on the books, but this variant, this inflammatory redesign makes of the law a veritable charter of malice.

What is truly staggering about all of this is that not a peep of skepticism or incredulity has come from President Museveni (pictured). And President Museveni is chairing the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit. In so doing, he makes a mockery of Commonwealth principles.

One must remember that the last meeting of CHOGM was held in Uganda in 2007, and issued what is called the “Munyonyo Statement of Respect and Understanding”. It asserted that the Commonwealth “is a body well-placed to affirm the fundamental truth that diversity is one of humanity’s greatest strengths”. It went on to say that “accepting diversity, respecting the dignity of all human beings, and understanding the richness of our multiple identities have always been fundamental to the Commonwealth’s principles and approach …”. President Museveni signed the document. How in the world does he reconcile the affirmation then with the defamation now?

It is noteworthy that much of the strongest opposition to the Bill is coming from the courageous Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender activists on the ground. LGBT activism always commands admiration, but in this instance especially so, because their very lives hang in the balance.\

Read the rest on AIDS-Free World.

Stephen Lewis on homophobia

[Excerpt from Stephen Lewis' speech at the IAS Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, July 19, 2009. Read the full speech.]

When the Government of Senegal jails eight gay AIDS activists for no reason except homophobia, setting back the fight against AIDS, where are the scientific voices of condemnation?

Right now, in the Caribbean, every country save the Bahamas, has laws that criminalize homosexuality. We tiptoe round this twisted form of racism. We submit to ridiculous claims of cultural relativism.


The Prime Minister of Jamaica, in the safety of Parliament, makes the most contemptible statements about gay men, leaving every elemental component of human rights in tatters, and he’s never called to account ... not by the UN Human Rights Council, not by the G8, not by the G20, not by the Commonwealth … only by the gay activists themselves.

What is wrong with the international community? If this is how it behaves, it doesn’t deserve the name “community” at all.

And if the political leadership lacks the courage to confront such outrageous slander, you shouldn’t lack the courage. You’re scientists. You know that it’s a scientific reality that a certain percentage of the world’s people is gay. So tell the political philistines to get over it and stop wrecking such damage. More, you know that an ugly homophobic culture is a threat to public health that inevitably serves to spread the virus … I beg you to say so. The majesty of science is its influence.

Stephen Lewis on Elizabeth Pisani

From the Globe and Mail: The former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa reviews The Wisdom of Whores. In typical Stephen Lewis fashion, it makes for a fascinating read!

To learn more about what he agrees with, what he criticises, and his own editorial comments on the responses in Africa and among "high-risk" populations, harm reduction, resources, abstinence, the Bush administration, testing and human rights, treatment vs prevention arguments, poverty and development lenses, gender inequality, the absence of female sexual autonomy and the UN apparatus... read the full review!

"The Wisdom of Whores ends with the desperate question: "What the hell difference are we making anyway?" I ask myself that 10 times a day. The sad, sad truth about the Pisani book is that the rude language and controversial nostrums will allow it to be dismissed by policy makers at all levels. But it should be mandatory, not voluntary, reading: Pisani is lucid, colourful, insightful and impatient. In her last chapter, she says quite plainly that we know what to do and we're just not doing it. She's right. The worst thing that's happened to AIDS is that the same tired, intellectually ossified bureaucrats in international aid agencies, in many governments, in multilateral financial vehicles and above all in the United Nations, are calling the shots.

Elizabeth Pisani is a far straighter shooter than most of them put together."

Read the rest... and don't forget about the event at the International AIDS conference in Mexico that includes a conversation between IRMA and Ms. Pisani!