Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-02-17-Speech-4-460-000"
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"en.20110217.24.4-460-000"2
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"Mr President, let me start by paying tribute to the late David Kato. David Kato was a courageous human rights defender and fearless LGTB rights activist.
The EU intends to keep raising its concerns in relation to the draft anti-homosexuality bill and other cases of the persecution of LGBT people in Uganda on every suitable occasion, in dialogue with the government. In addition, the EU will continue to support local human rights organisations in their efforts to change attitudes in the country. The EU delegation will shortly meet with a protection organisation for human rights defenders to discuss ways of supporting their work for LGTB activists.
As a leading voice on LGTB rights, his life was under threat. On 2 October 2010, David Kato’s name and picture, along with the names and pictures of other alleged LGBT persons, were published by a Ugandan tabloid, the
under the headline ‘Hang them’, shamelessly putting their lives at risk.
It was a success that he won an appeal against the paper. On 3 January, a court ruled that the paper had violated their constitutional rights to privacy and safety and awarded the three plaintiffs damages.
It was his last success. On 26 January, David Kato was killed. The EU, through its heads of mission in Uganda, expressed its shock and called on the Ugandan authorities to investigate David Kato’s murder vigorously and to ensure that the perpetrators of this terrible act were brought to justice.
David Kato will be a great loss to the global community of human rights defenders and to Uganda. His death also reminds us of the volatile situation for LGBT people in Uganda and elsewhere. Right after his death, on 28 January, another paper
published an outrageous article with very insulting statements about homosexuals. The draft anti-homosexuality bill put before the Ugandan parliament has been temporarily shelved, but can be re-tabled once a new parliament is established after the upcoming elections in Uganda.
The EU position on LGTB rights is very clear. The criminalisation of homosexuality, as foreseen in the draft Uganda bill, goes against international human rights standards. The draft bill also goes against the EU-supported United Nations Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity of 18 December 2008.
The EU heads of mission have raised this issue with the Ugandan Government on several occasions at the highest level: with the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice and the Uganda Human Rights Commission.
On 9 February, the Human Rights Working Group, which brings together several partners in Uganda, invited human rights defenders to give an update on actions undertaken by the LGBT – and broader human rights defenders’ – community, following David’s murder.
On 3 February, the EU Delegation, together with ten EU Member States represented in Uganda and Norway, launched the Local Implementation Strategy on the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. The strategy set out, in a more practical way, how EU missions and Norway can work to assist and acknowledge the work of human rights defenders, including LGBT activists."@en1
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"Red Pepper"1
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