State Department Warns On “Criminalization Of Homosexuality” In Uganda

[DonViejo]

“Uganda’s own human rights council has made clear that if this were to pass, it would put the country out of compliance with its own international human rights obligations,” a State Department spokeswoman says. A senior State Department official was in Uganda over the weekend.

WASHINGTON—The United States is pressing Uganda not to pass an "Anti-Homosexuality Bill," a spokeswoman for the State Department said Monday.

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson was in Uganda this weekend, reiterating the administration's "vocal" concerns about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill under consideration there, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Regarding questions about the death penalty, which has been a penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" in earlier versions of the bill, Nuland said she didn't know whether the State Department has seen a version of the bill as passed by a legislative committee in Uganda's parliament.

"They’ve been a little bit close hold about this, partly because there’s been so much controversy in the international community. So our concern is about any criminalization of homosexuality, obviously," she said.

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