The African continent is showing a particular deterioration in the protection of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and other identities’ (LGBTQ+) rights. Most African countries have already imposed restrictive policies against LGBTQ+ communities, while others are worsening now their conditions. Same-sex relations are illegal in more than 30 African countries altogether, constituting half of the total 69 countries banning these weddings. Yet, legal recognition of transgender individuals is much more limited than that for people attracted to the same sex. About half of the continent bans transgender and gender-nonconforming Africans from altering the gender markers on their legal identification. The risks that African LGBTQ+ people are going into include physical violence, repression, discrimination, health restrictions and political blowback.
From the COVID pandemic afterward, many African countries witnessed a backlash in law enforcement and respect for LGBTQ+ rights. For instance, in the first half of 2021, right groups violently manifested against LGBTQ+ people in Senegal; in Kenya, there was a brutal murder of a non-binary lesbian; at least 27 people were arrested in Cameroon; and in South Africa, at least 24 people were reportedly murdered in bias-motivated attacks. Then, Ghana introduced a strict anti-gay bill in late 2022. Meanwhile, countries such as Egypt and Tunisia use vague laws against prostitution, cybercrime, and “debauchery” to detect and catch those deemed to be LGBTQ+. In addition, Tunisian security forces target activists working on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity at protests, through arbitrary arrest, physical assault, and threats, and Egypt continues to arrest, detain, and torture LGBTQ+ people. Furthermore, leaders in Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria and Tanzania have in recent years initiated vocal attacks against LGBTQ+ people as propaganda tools for national elections.
This year, Uganda passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act. The law embraces the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality,’ which includes sex with people under 18 or the involvement of an HIV-positive person. To be noticed, this serious illness is disproportionately burdening LGBTQ+ populations, especially men who have sex with men, because the connection between HIV and homophobic laws is extremely high due to the fear of being identified as LGBTQ+ person. Nonetheless, focusing on LGBTQ+ people, the Anti-Homosexuality Act penalizes the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ with 20 years’ imprisonment, targeting activities such as persuading, advertising, financing, providing spaces, and operating organizations ‘promoting homosexuality,’ which are all to be assessed by the national government. Indeed, even any media organizations that share information on LGBTQ+ issues can be fined up to 1 billion Ugandan shillings and a 10-year license revocation, contributing to a decline in freedom of expression. Therefore, the Ugandan law is regarded as one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world.
Similarly, even Ghana implemented a law that criminalizes LGBTQ+ people. The Parliament unanimously amended the country’s anti-gay legislation, pushing it closer to being enacted into law, increasing penalties and creating new offenses perpetrated by LGBTQ+ people. Though less harsh than Uganda’s new law, the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill proposes a three-year prison sentence for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promotes homosexuality.
Again, In Kenya, the Supreme Court was called to tighten anti-gay laws. In 2023, the Family Protection Bill seeks to amend the definition of ‘family’ in the constitution and impose harsher penalties for consensual same-sex sexual acts. Moreover, a motion to prohibit the discussion, publication and dissemination of LGBTQ+ information was considered in a second process, even though the Supreme Court reaffirmed the rights of LGBTQ+ people to associate and form non-governmental organizations. Indeed, the High body upheld verdicts by lower courts stating that the government could not lawfully refuse to register an organization calling itself the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), despite condemnations by President William Ruto and many religious leaders.
The current shift suggests that Africa is regressing. The previous laws were just a few examples as many similar cases are registered in Cameroon, Niger, Tanzania, and other African countries. Although the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a central pledge to “leave no one behind” and to prioritize the poorest and most marginalized, African countries are not respecting the agreement with the United Nations. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which is also legally binding, enforces under Article 2 the right to equality of all and the protection against discrimination based on sex or other status. However, the African Union (AU) has no official position on whether this includes sexual orientation, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has not been consistent on the issue.
In a few words, the causes of this backlash are reducible to religion, colonialism and politics. As the majority of the African continent is a devoted Christian or Muslim, fundamentalism is one of the main triggers behind the LGBTQ+ repression. Both these extreme versions of Christianity and Islamism condemn homosexuality. In countries like Mauritania, Somalia, and some Nigerian states, the practice of Sharia law, lengthy prison terms and capital punishments are commonplace. Hence sex and gender are used as tools for control and power and stress the patriarchal vision of society. Nevertheless, much of Africa’s anti-LGBTQ+ legislation originated under European colonial rule, which prohibited same-sex marriage for example. Still, the discrimination against LGBTQ+ people has often political interests rather than moral ones. These negative terms are used by African politicians to gain support and distract from shortcomings. They often label LGBTQ+ identities as a Western import that threatens social cohesion- At the same time, they leverage fear to divide and maintain power by demonstrating ever-increasing cruelty especially to those seen as ‘weaker’, poor and/or marginalized.
In conclusion, human rights protection is overall lacking in Africa as every single individual should be free from persecution and free to express themselves. These political shifts and juridical amendments, witnessed in almost all African countries, demonstrate the long-lasting impact of colonialism on the continent and how feeble the African institutions are. As factors like religion still influence African politics and society, we can firmly say that there is still a lot of work to do and that international democratic interventions were not enough to protect human rights. It is important to continue monitoring the evolution of LGBTQ+ rights in Africa, but I would recommend Western organizations working for LGBTQ+ rights in the continent to keep safeguarding people in need and not to push for radical reforms at the political level. The respect for LGBTQ+ rights must come from internal institutions, to enhance the legal framework and the practice at the same time.
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations
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