Doug PollardDFAT Statement on Uganda
President Museveni of Uganda, who supports a bill to hang HIV gays who have sex
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued the following statement last night regarding the Ugandan Bill to bring in the death penalty for 'aggravvated homosexuality.'
. The Government is deeply concerned about the draft Anti-Homosexuality private member’s bill before the Ugandan parliament.
. Australia urges all governments to ensure that neither sexual orientation nor gender identity form the basis for criminal penalties
- and co-sponsored the UN Joint Statement on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at the UN General Assembly in December 2008.
. The Australian High Commission in Nairobi has been instructed to raise the Australian Government’s concerns about the contents of the bill with the Ugandan Government.
. The Government believes that people are entitled to respect, dignity and the opportunity to participate in society and receive the protection of the law regardless of their sexuality
. Australia is a global advocate in support of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and has worked consistently through multilateral fora, as well as through bilateral channels, to combat such discrimination by promoting the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
. Australia will take opportunities through the UN and other channels to urge all governments to align their policies in accordance with the principles set out in the UN Joint Statement on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
- Australia’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York urged all countries to address discrimination against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity, in Australia’s National Statement on Human Rights to the UN General Assembly in October 2009.
