mr president the anti-homosexuality bill by david bahati in the ugandan parliament that provides for the punishment of homosexual acts by imprisonment of between seven years and life as well as the death penalty is simply unacceptable
let us remember that in africa legal homosexuality only exists in thirteen countries and is a criminal offence in thirty-eight countries whilst in mauritania sudan and northern nigeria homosexuality is punished by death
this is why we need to reiterate once again the fact that sexual orientation is a matter falling within the remit of the individual's rights of privacy
it is guaranteed by international human rights law according to which equality and non-discrimination should be promoted while freedom of expression should be guaranteed
this is why we need to denounce again any attempt to incite hatred and advocate violence towards any minority group including on grounds of sex or sexual orientation
we need to remind the ugandan authorities of their obligations under international law and under the cotonou agreement
this is why i also ask the commission and the council and the european external action service as well to make full use of the toolkit to promote and protect the enjoyment of full human rights by lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people in their dealings with uganda
