Dáil debates

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Topical Issue Debate

Human Rights Issues

4:40 pm

Photo of Seán CroweSeán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate this matter being taken. I suppose people around the world were horrified, and rightly so, and condemned this Bill when it was put before the Ugandan Parliament. There were indications that President Museveni might refuse to sign this private members' legislation into law but he appears to have caved in to whatever pressures were in the country. It was interesting that a week before, there was a delegation from Uganda comprising both government and opposition sides and they indicated that this would not be brought into law. I do not know what pressures the Ugandan Government and Parliament are under but there is a right-wing, church-dominated agenda coming from some churches.

Uganda is a partnership country for Irish Aid. Where does that leave our relationship with Uganda? Do we still see Uganda as a reliable partner after the passing of this Bill despite the assurance that it would not pass it and in light of the misappropriation of aid money in 2012? I do not want aid to Uganda to stop but I want to hear what we are going to do. What message is Ireland sending? Will we continue to support civic society in Uganda? The nightmare question for many people was, if this was passed, what would be the roll-out? One newspaper has published up to 200 names to allow people to be intimidated, attacked, etc. What is the next step? It would be interesting to hear the Minister's views on that.

Photo of Jerry ButtimerJerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing us to raise this and I thank Deputy Crowe. This is a very controversial piece of legislation. It does not respect the human rights of any person irrespective of their sexuality, particularly the LGBT community in Uganda. Putting aside Africa's views of homosexuality, its religion and ethos, we must examine the human rights perspective. If this Government is serious about the pursuit of human rights, the Bill must be taken up by the Government at whatever level it can be. We are criminalising people who are gay. To quote the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, it is "atrocious". It is driving people underground, further stigmatising gay people and increasing risk-taking behaviour. It is making Ugandan citizens vulnerable. It is inexplicable that a president can do this.

I heard Deputy Crowe. At the Committee of Public Accounts meeting today the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr. David Cooney, said it would not be appropriate to cut Irish Aid to Uganda over its anti-gay laws. Part of me agrees with him because it would be penalising people, which we should not do, but this Bill needs to be taken up through us as a parliament with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, the EU or the UN. It is focusing on discrimination and is completely anti-human rights. Even allowing for the argument about aid, which I do not want to pursue, I hope our Government will pursue this at the highest level.

Photo of Alex WhiteAlex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I am taking this Topical Issue matter on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Eamon Gilmore. The passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill by the Ugandan Parliament and its subsequent signing into law by President Museveni last week is a very disappointing and unwelcome development. The Tánaiste has made it clear that the enactment of this draconian legislation will affect our valued relationship with Uganda.

The Minister of State, Deputy Joe Costello, in his speech this week to the UN Human Rights Council, highlighted our grave concerns at the enactment of regressive legislation in some countries, including Uganda, affecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex, LGBTI, individuals. The Minister of State called on the Human Rights Council to be more vocal as the most basic rights of LGBTI people continue to be violated on a daily basis. This Government has consistently supported the promotion and protection of the human rights of all persons, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and is strongly committed to combating all human rights violations committed against individuals on such or any basis. Our commitments in this area are a fundamental feature of our foreign policy and our aid programme.

There is no doubt that this legislation is in clear conflict with Uganda's binding international obligations to uphold human rights. The legislation is in contravention of the principle of non-discrimination in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, both of which have been ratified by Uganda, as well as in the Ugandan Constitution. It is the responsibility of the Ugandan Government to uphold its international obligations to treat all citizens equally, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Ireland, together with our EU partners, has been actively engaged with the Ugandan Parliament and President Museveni in efforts to halt this regressive and discriminatory legislation. It is a threat to Uganda's gay community and an affront to all those who value tolerance, respect and dignity of all people. It will also undermine public health in a very practical way, including the efforts to combat the scourge of HIV-AIDS in Uganda. Ireland will continue to play a positive role in support of human rights and equality in Uganda. We will continue to express our support for all human rights activists in Uganda, in particular those working on LGBTI rights. We strongly urge the Ugandan authorities to protect all its citizens against violence, exclusion, discrimination and arbitrary punishment and to abolish all laws that contravene human rights obligations, including this new regressive law.

I would like to emphasise that none of our aid budget is provided by way of direct support to the Government of Uganda, with the exception of the Office of the Auditor General for its important work on fighting corruption. Our support to the poorest and most disadvantaged people in Uganda is provided through trusted non-government channels. In this way, we are directly targeting the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society, be it people living with HIV-AIDS, those experiencing chronic poverty in Karamoja, or those who are being subjected to gender based violence. A review of the future of our partnership with Uganda has been planned in the coming period, and this will provide us with the opportunity to consider what we have achieved so far and how we should work for the benefit of the people of Uganda in the future.

Photo of Seán CroweSeán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I listened to what the Minister said about this. It is about the health and well-being of the LGBT community in Uganda. A review was going on about the funding that went missing. Will this be part of that ongoing review? Many people are saying this is a game changer, that it changes the dynamic between this country and Uganda. Is that the Government's view? The Minister said the Government is actively engaged with the Ugandan authorities but is that going to make any changes? The Red Pepper published pictures and details of Uganda's "top 200 homosexuals." Is the Government concerned about what will happen to people and about other countries following through on similar legislation?

That is always the danger with regressive legislation like this, as it is not only the impact it will have in the country in question but rather in other countries around the region.

4:50 pm

Photo of Jerry ButtimerJerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. There is an obligation on the Government to act and there is a similar obligation on us as parliamentarians to ask for a motion before the next meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, as we cannot allow discrimination to continue with regard to sexual orientation. We accept that people have and will be killed as a consequence of this legislation, and I hope the Government can act. I accept the options are limited with regard to aid, and the Minister of State's reply indicates that we cannot necessarily go after some of the programmes, but it is important that on a European Union, United Nations and parliamentary level we do not allow this to become part of a movement across certain continents, as Deputy Crowe indicated. Such a movement could have regressive legislation depriving people of their rights and entitlements.

Photo of Alex WhiteAlex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I agree with Deputies and repeat that this is regressive legislation that is clearly in contravention with Uganda's international obligations in the human rights area. The Bill was introduced to the parliament as a private members' Bill on 14 October 2009 and passed on 20 December 2013. I have indicated that our embassy in Kampala, along with our EU and other partners, have actively engaged with the Ugandan President and Ugandan Government, warning them that the enactment of this draconian legislation will not in any way help relations between Uganda and its international development partners. As I indicated earlier, the Tánaiste has made it clear that the enactment of this draconian legislation will affect our valued relationship with Uganda. We have participated actively in high level discussions within the EU and strong statements have been issued by High Representative Catherine Ashton. The Ugandan authorities have a responsibility to take all necessary action to ensure the principle of non-discrimination is upheld.

On the question of aid, Ireland intends to continue to provide support to the poorest and most vulnerable in Uganda. Our support, as I mentioned, is directed to projects and programmes operated through trusted non-governmental partners. We will continue to work with non-governmental organisation and civil society partners in support of human rights and equality in that country.