LGBT in ESC: How the Persecution of Homosexuality in Uganda Will Go Unnoticed in the Global Community
An article written by Celia Saroya in York University’s Excalibur discusses a bill recently proposed in Uganda that severely limits homosexual rights. In a country that already punishes homosexual acts with imprisonment of up to 14 years, it is the additions in David Bahati’s bill that target the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) community for further punishment due to sexual orientation. The legislation, if passed, will increase sentence lengths to life for participating in homosexual acts and capital punishment if said acts include someone with HIV-positive status. Additionally, the bill contains statutes putting an onus on individuals to report homosexual behavior or face jail time themselves. The language of the bill leaves itself open greatly to interpretation and allows heavily for speculation and allegations, stating that one can face punishment if he simply “touches another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality”[1]. Further, the legislation pushes to extradite homosexual Ugandans living abroad to punish them accordingly. Bahati’s legislation, introduced October 2009, has incurred both stark opposition and great applause from state officials. Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Musevini has not made comment on the matter.
While it is easily discerned from the newspaper article that the Ugandan LGBT community is being persecuted, what is called to question is what type of rights are being violated and if the international community will take note. Within the realm of rights, there are two sets to consider: economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights and civil and political (CP) rights. ESC rights are those that address basic human needs, as opposed to CP rights, which focus on the individual. The point of focus is that of cultural rights, which are said to give coverage to minorities and indigenous peoples. In his article discussing the future of ESC rights, David Beetham examines how this class of rights is typically overshadowed by CP[2]. It is a Western ideal to focus on diminishing instances of torture or promoting free elections – essentially, democracy – over discussing literacy rates, the declining gross domestic product of a state, or ensuring one’s ability to wear his religious garb safely. The second-class treatment of ESC rights comes by way of a few arguments or disparities in thought.
“Rights”, it seems, are in many ways objective. There is a struggle to define what specific items can be considered rights and especially which of these should be afforded to everyone. Beetham lays out four satisfying principles, which maintain that in order to be a right, an item must be essential and universal; it should have characteristics that, if withheld, allow for legal action; it must have a clear beholder; and, it should be satiable. ESC rights rarely fulfill all these standards and are commonly viewed as wish lists, a set of goals that haven’t taken into consideration the limitations of resources. In a world where the West dominates the political scene, it is their ideas and preferences that take precedence in each conversation. At what point, Beetham asks, are unjust actions significant enough to merit action?
Interference in another country’s actions is a difficult matter, but severely less likely when the issue at hand is of little importance to the global super powers. With Western ideology focused on spreading democracy and capitalism, matters of sexual orientation are apt to get left behind.
[1] Saroya, Celia. “Homosexual Ugandans demonized.” Excalibur. York University, 27 Jan. 2010. Web. 6 Feb. 2010. <http://www.excal.on.ca/cms2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7911>.
[2] Beetham, David. “What Future for Economic and Social Rights?” Political Studies XLIII (1995): 41-60. Print.
© 2010, Denise Wiseman. All rights reserved.