Liberia: “Döda homofilerna”-lag sprids
Före detta Liberias första dam lady Jewel Howard Taylor har introducerat ett lagförslag som gör att homosexualitet kan ge dödsstraff. Jewel är en senator samt den förre presidenten Charles Taylors exfru. Uganda framlade nyligen åter [en] en liknande, kontroversiell antigay-lag.
Homosexualitet är förbjudet i 38 afrikanska längder och är straffbart med dödsstraff i Mauretanien, Sudan och norra Nigeria.
Melanie skriver om Liberias antigay-lag och säger:
Expressed many times on my blog, is the fear that David Bahati’s Kill the Gays Bill, currently before the Ugandan Parliament, could well spread to other parts of Africa , as it is accompanied by the promotion of much anti-gay rhetoric and myth. It seems that the Kill the Gays idea is indeed spreading, even though it has met with great criticism around the world. In conversations last year, David Bahati told Warren Throckmorton and me that other African nations had expressed interest in his Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which we have come to know as The Kill the Gays Bill.
En karta som visar straff mot homosexuella och lesbiska i Afrika [en
No date has been set for debate or vote. Both Houses of the legislature would need to pass the bill to send to the President for signature or veto. I wrote about this bill and a companion bill in their House last week.
As far as I can determine, in Liberia penalties for a First Degree Felony can range from 10 years in prison to death. The amendment is short and without definitions.
Evan undrar varför nobelprisvinnaren och Liberias president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf förblir tyst:
If convicted, such a crime would warrant punishment ranging from 10 years in jail to death.
And Nobel prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has remained silent on the issue.
The issue continues to heat up owing to the pressure of the U.S. and the U.K. to consider gay rights as human rights over the past year.
Borde USA strypa stödet till Liberia?:
The U.S. gives quite a bit of aid to Liberia. The question is whether we will put our money where are mouths are and actually cut back assistance because of this issue, even as American influence on the continent wanes in the face of massive Chinese investment. Would such a stance fly well with the American electorate? There may be mixed support for gay marriage, but I’m pretty sure that a healthy majority of Americans would recognize death-for-sodomy as a massive human rights violation…
Liberias förra första dams brev till de liberiska parlamentarikerna angående antigay-lagen [en
It would appear that Ms. Jewel Taylor has learned one or two things about how campaigns of this sort have come a-cropper in other parts of Africa. So, she is covering her flank by disguising her anti-gay sentiments in language that suggests that she is trying to prevent “gay marriage.”
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Really? In a country where the language of the law is against same gender loving, Ms. Taylor’s only concern is gay marriage? Why do I find that hard to believe?
Boima J. V. Boima varnar:
But the law, if passed, could have economic implications for Liberia since western powers including the US and UK are tying gay rights to foreign aid to third world countries, including Liberia.
The draft bill surfaced following repeated calls by UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon and western powers urging African leaders to legalize same sex marriage or risk being deprived of foreign assistance for development.
Gayrättsaktivister och sympatisörer kan skriva på en petition för att protestera mot Liberias “Döda Homofilerna”-lag:
Target: Liberian Senator Jewel Haward [sic] Taylor
Goal: To urge Senator Taylor not to push this bill, which would allow judges to punish homosexual acts with the death penalty in Liberia.
In the west African country of Liberia, LGBT couples have been struggling to gain legal recognition. But Senator Taylor, who recently introduced a bill that would make homosexual acts punishable by death, could serve as a huge roadblock to equality. Senator Taylor must stop advocating for the passage of a bill that would essentially take the lives of some LGBT Liberians.
Många afrikanska ledare hävdar att homosexualitet är onaturligt och oafrikanskt. Sydafrika är ett South African is ett undantag med en grundlag som tillhandahåller det mest omfattande skyddet av gayrättigheter i världen.
