Wyden Asks Administration to Warn Uganda Its AGOA Eligibility Is Endangered
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is asking the State Department to warn Uganda's president that if he signs a bill that discriminates against gay and lesbian citizens, his country's participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act will be revoked.
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In a letter sent April 25, Wyden said that AGOA is not allowed for countries engaged in gross violations of human rights. "The legislation currently awaiting President [Yoweri] Museveni’s signature, known formally as the 'Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023' expands existing criminal penalties for same-sex intimacy in Uganda, specifically making identifying as gay illegal and creates a duty for all Ugandans, including doctors, clergy, parents and lawyers, to report suspected individuals in same-sex relationships to authorities. It adds new criminal penalties for speech in support of LGBTQI+ persons or organizations and makes it a crime to rent housing or office space to suspected LGBTQI+ individuals. The human rights concerns raised by this bill are clear," he wrote.