Defending Human Rights: A Resource Book for Human

ape by heterosexual men. Gays are often raped
in prison by heterosexual men;
• Denial of the right to justice and remedy;
• Extortion using threats of revealing someone’s
sexual orientation in return for money, assets and/
or sexual favours, which increases their emotional,
economical and physical vulnerability;
• Defamation and baiting
In several countries of the East and Horn of Africa,
laws that criminalise same-sex conduct exist and
are enforced. LGBTI individuals face harassment
and imprisonment that often goes hand in hand
with degrading treatment, torture and defamation.
Often, impunity prevails with discriminatory
legislation used as a justification to deny LGBTI
individuals equal protection by the law. Abuse
of power by authorities such as police against
gays is sanctioned by referencing legal provisions
prohibiting homosexual acts as well as rallying public
opinion on the alleged immorality of such acts.
These individuals also often face violence and
arbitrary violation of their rights such as torture,
rape, detention, harassment and defamation solely
due to their sexual orientation/identity. Basic rights
enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human
Rights and the country’s constitutions are denied
to those openly or allegedly being homosexual
or transgender. “[V]iolence against lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender persons is frequently
unreported, undocumented and goes ultimately
unpunished. […] This shameful silence is the
ultimate rejection of the fundamental principle of
universality of rights. […] Excluding LGBT individuals
from these protections clearly violates international
human rights law as well as the common standards
of humanity that define us all”, says UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour. 41
As a result, life in hiding is a challenge many LGBTI
individuals have to cope with to avoid harassment
and imprisonment. This automatically impairs their
ability to pursue education, stable employment
and access to healthcare. This renders them more
vulnerable emotionally, socially and economically.
Several studies have documented the exclusion of
homosexuals from HIV/AIDS programmes, including
sensitisation, counselling, safer-sex education, and
41 Presentation of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Louise Arbour to the
International Conference on LGBT (Lesbian, Gays, Bisexual
and Transgender) Human Rights; Montreal, 26 July 2006.
treatment. As a result, this group has remained
potentially high-risk. 42
In 2006 a Ugandan tabloid, The Red Pepper
published a list of names, places of work, and areas
of residence of alleged gays, inciting fear within the
LGBTI community and clearly violatimg their rights
as individuals to privacy. The publication thereby
stirred a polemic and homophobic discussion,
carried out in the newspapers and joined by highranking
politicians and religious leaders calling
for the prosecution of homosexuals. 43 In 2010,
Uganda’s Rolling Stone paper also published a list of
individuals “outing” them to the public and called
for them to be hanged. Several of the individuals
whose photos were published were harassed as a
result. 44 Activists took the newspaper to court and
were rewarded compensation for defamation. By
2011, the culture of ‘outing’ individuals of a different
sexual orientation had culminated in a tragic death.
A prominent Ugandan LGBTI activist David Kato, who
was one of the individuals that had been mentioned
in the article published by the Rolling Stone paper
was brutally murdered in January 2011. 45
Defamation and baiting of LGBTI individuals
can further contribute to their insecurity as
well as marginalising or even ostracising them
from their family and wider community. This yet
again increases their financial and psychological
vulnerability through exclusion from employment
and social support from family and the community.
The silence of mainstream human rights defenders
on these issues has proven a challenge in advancing
the notion of the universality of human rights.
These forms of discrimination carried out by
authorities, law-makers, defenders, the public and
individuals are a clear indicator of the prevailing lack
of recognition that LGBTI rights are human rights.
42 For example: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission (2007) Off the Map. How HIV/AIDS Programming
is Failing Same-Sex Practicing People in Africa. http://
www.iglhrc.org/files/iglhrc/otm/Off%20The%20Map.pdf
43 Human Rights Watch (2006) “Uganda: Press Homophobia
Raises Fears of Crackdown. Government Campaign Against
Gay and Lesbian Community Escalates”, September 8, 2006
http://www.hrw.org/news/2006/09/07/uganda-presshomophobia-raises-fears-crackdown
44 BBC News Article “Attacks reported on Ugandans newspaper
‘outed’ as gay”, 22 October 2010 http://www.bbc.co.uk/
news/world-africa-11608241
45 BBC News Article “Uganda gay rights activist David Kato
killed”, 27th January 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
world-africa-12295718
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Defending Human Rights: A Resource Book for Human Rights Defenders | 2nd Edition