A RESOLUTION

 

1Condemning the recent passage of legislation in Uganda and
2Nigeria criminalizing same-sex relationships and
3organizations, and calling upon the leaders of those nations
4to repeal and reject those laws as gross violations of
5lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals'
6civil rights.

7WHEREAS, On December 20, 2013, the Parliament of Uganda
8passed a law that would prescribe life imprisonment for repeated
9consensual sexual acts between adults of the same gender; and

10WHEREAS, The Parliament of Uganda also prescribed
11imprisonment for failure to report lesbian, gay, bisexual or
12transgender (LGBT) individuals and for performing same-sex
13marriages; and

14WHEREAS, On January 17, 2014, Ugandan President Yuweri
15Museveni, who described LGBT individuals as "sick people who
16need help," returned the legislation to Parliament for lack of a
17quorum; and

18WHEREAS, The Parliament of Uganda now has the ability to
19either vote, with a full quorum, for the hateful legislation or
20to reject it for its clear violations of basic civil rights; and

1WHEREAS, On January 7, 2014, Nigeria, Africa's most populous
2and politically influential nation, also enacted the "Same-Sex
3Marriage Prohibition Act," which criminalizes same-sex marriage,
4as well as membership in or support of any LGBT organization;
5and

6WHEREAS, Police in the northern Nigerian state of Bauchi
7arrested and allegedly tortured dozens of men suspected of being
8gay; and

9WHEREAS, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan publicly
10committed to alleviating the epidemic of HIV-AIDS, affecting 34
11million Nigerians, while simultaneously signing into law the
12discriminatory and counterproductive legislation; and

13WHEREAS, HIV-AIDS programs established to assist the Nigerian
14LGBT community, of which 17% are affected by HIV-AIDS, are now
15effectively illegal; and

16WHEREAS, United States Secretary of State John Kerry
17denounced Nigeria's law for "dangerously restrict[ing] freedom
18of assembly, association and expression for all Nigerians";
19therefore be it

20RESOLVED, That the Senate equally condemn, in the strongest
21possible terms, both Uganda and Nigeria for their grave
22violations of civil rights as pertain to LGBT citizens; and be
23it further

24RESOLVED, That the Senate strongly urge the full membership
25of the Parliament of Uganda to vote down the vile and
26discriminatory legislation, Ugandan President Yuweri Museveni to
27veto the bill should it be passed by the Parliament of Uganda
28once more and President Goodluck Jonathan to repeal Nigeria's
29equally noxious prohibition on same-sex organizations and
30relationships.