Ottawa urged to step up against homophobic laws in Uganda, Ghana

Canada is missing a pivotal moment to fight a rollback of LGBTQ+ rights abroad, activists say, and they’re urging the Liberal government to put more action behind its condemnation of homophobic legislation in Uganda and Ghana.

Steven Kabuye, an activist visiting Toronto who was stabbed in broad daylight in Uganda in January, says the situation is dire.

“They’ve legalized homophobia,” he said of his country in an interview.

“They gave a public mandate to kill gay people, because where can I get justice? Even the police want to arrest me.”

Last spring, Uganda put into force a law that prescribes life imprisonment for homosexuality and the death penalty for the offence of “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes having gay sex while being HIV-positive.

The bill calls for jail terms of up to 20 years for those promoting LGBTQ+ rights, and requires landlords to evict anyone they suspect of committing homosexual acts.

Ghana’s parliament passed its own draft law last month that if ratified would allow decade-long prison terms for anyone promoting LGBTQ+ rights, and jail for any same-sex “public show of romantic relations.”

The bill would require friends of people who identify as LGBTQ+ to report them to authorities.

A coalition of Canadian groups advocating for LGBTQ+ rights globally says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is failing to adequately push back.

“We’re frustrated that they haven’t recognized that this is an emergency,” said Doug Kerr, head of the Dignity Network.

“This is the time to really step up and support groups — and Canada does have capacity to do that.”

A year ago, Trudeau condemned the “despicable” legislation in Uganda, and said he was “looking at how we can support” LGBTQ+ Ugandans.

Since then, Ottawa