KAMPALA, Uganda – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, met with Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and leaders of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Kampala, offering support for efforts to stand against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill being considered by the Ugandan parliament. The bill would criminalize homosexuality and mandates sentences of life imprisonment or, for repeat “offenses,” the death penalty.

“LGBT rights are human rights, no matter where in the world a person lives,” Senator Coons said. “People of all nations are entitled to live free from discrimination, hate and fear. Turning individuals into criminals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is unacceptable anywhere, including Uganda. The proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill is particularly heinous and I appreciate the efforts being made by many here in Uganda, including President Museveni, to prevent it from becoming law. In my meeting with the President this morning, I reiterated what President Obama and Secretary Clinton have made clear: it is the policy of the United States that human rights abuses against LGBT individuals will not be tolerated.”

Senator Coons, a strong advocate for civil rights in the United States and abroad, met with 10 Ugandan activists in Kampala Sunday evening to discuss their work in promoting equality. He met with President Museveni earlier in the day on an array of economic, security, and social issues. Senator Coons has repeatedly called on African leaders to abandon efforts to criminalize homosexuality, including Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill in May 2011 and the Nigerian Senate’s criminalization bill in November 2011.

In December of 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech in front of the United Nations where she declared “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” Secretary Clinton also stated “The Obama Administration defends the human rights of LGBT people as part of our comprehensive human rights policy and as a priority of our foreign policy.”

To read more about Senator Coons’ work for equality and civil rights, click here. 

To read more about Senator Coons’ work as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, click here.