Asked by: Conor Burns (Conservative - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what direct aid his Department has given to LGBTQ+ organisations in Uganda since the adoption of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK works to tackle the root causes of human rights violations and abuses, including in Uganda. Since 2018, the UK has invested over £13.5 million in programmes to support the promotion and protection of LGBT+ rights globally, primarily in the Commonwealth. The British High Commission in Uganda is engaging with the LGBT+ community and human rights defenders to understand the impact of the Anti-Homosexuality Act on the safety of LGBT+ people and support their efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable communities.
Asked by: Conor Burns (Conservative - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department's High Commission in Uganda has provided to the LGBT+ community in that country since the adoption of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I [Andrew Mitchell] issued a statement on 29 May strongly condemning the Government of Uganda's decision to sign the deeply discriminatory Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law. I met with the Ugandan Foreign Minister on 14 March and 4 May 2023, and the Ugandan High Commissioner on 1 June 2023, to underline the strength of our opposition to the Act and highlight its impacts on the safety of LGBT+ people in Uganda. The Prime Minister has also spoken with the Foreign Minister, as has the Foreign Secretary with the High Commissioner. The British High Commission in Uganda has made the strength of the UK's opposition to this Act clear across its engagements with the Ugandan Government, and is engaging with the LGBT+ community and human rights defenders to understand the impact of the Act on the safety of LGBT+ people and support their efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable communities.
Asked by: Conor Burns (Conservative - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on LGBT+ Rights has had with the Ugandan Government on that country's Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I [Andrew Mitchell] issued a statement on 29 May strongly condemning the Government of Uganda's decision to sign the deeply discriminatory Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law. I met with the Ugandan Foreign Minister on 14 March and 4 May 2023, and the Ugandan High Commissioner on 1 June 2023, to underline the strength of our opposition to the Act and highlight its impacts on the safety of LGBT+ people in Uganda. The Prime Minister has also spoken with the Foreign Minister, as has the Foreign Secretary with the High Commissioner. The British High Commission in Uganda has made the strength of the UK's opposition to this Act clear across its engagements with the Ugandan Government, and is engaging with the LGBT+ community and human rights defenders to understand the impact of the Act on the safety of LGBT+ people and support their efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable communities.