HIV organisations condemn arrest of gay activists at HIV conference in Uganda

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For more information please call:

  • John Howson, International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Uganda: +44 7885 518815
  • Kevin Moody, GNP+: +31 20 423 4114
  • Sarah Wheeler, International HIV/AIDS Alliance: +44 1273 718949

The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) have strongly condemned the arrest of three gay activists yesterday at the 2008 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting in Kampala, Uganda.

John Howson, Associate Director from the Alliance said, “Arresting three activists during the Implementers’ Meeting, in a country which has been hailed as a model for designing and delivering programmes on HIV and AIDS is shocking. It demonstrates the lack of understanding of issues faced by men who have sex with men who remain in most countries of the world particularly vulnerable to HIV. A culture of homophobia will undermine efforts to fight AIDS in our communities,” he said.

1,700 delegates from 70 countries are currently gathered for the 2008 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ meeting to discuss responses to HIV and AIDS and share different and diverse viewpoints on ways of responding to HIV. One of the main issues under discussion is how to scale up services to reach larger numbers of marginalised groups.

“GNP+ and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance acknowledge and respect the sovereignty of Uganda and its legislature. However, in the spirit of open dialogue during the meeting, we regret that the Ugandan authorities went to the extent of arresting the activists before engaging in a constructive dialogue,” said Chris Mallouris, Director of Programs of GNP+.

Activism has played a very important role in responses to HIV and AIDS in all continents of the world, and in particular activism from key populations who are often marginalised and/or socially excluded. Such activism has led to breaking the silence on the lack of access to prevention, treatment, care and support services.

The reason the authorities have given for the arrest is breaking into a conference without registration.

“Given the fact that sex between consenting men is illegal in Uganda and given the marginalisation of gay men and other men who have sex with men in the national response, where else but at an international AIDS conference would these activists feel safe to raise awareness of their situation? Their protest was silent and peaceful. Their arrest was not,” said Howson.

“It is ironic that Ambassador Dybul, the Global AIDS Coordinator for the US Government, Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, Dr Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Kevin Moody, CEO of the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and David Wilson from the World Bank can raise the importance of protecting the rights of sexual minorities openly from the conference platform without arrest, when the very people they try to champion are denied a voice by the Ugandan authorities,” Mallouris added.

This is not the first time that homosexuals and men who have sex with men have been targeted in Africa. In February, ten people were arrested in Senegal because of their sexual orientation. They were later freed in response to worldwide protests against the arrests. In Gambia this week the President threatened to behead all homosexuals in his country, and late last year four men were arrested in Egypt for the ‘habitual practice of debauchery’. This alarming rise in homophobia will feature in debates among UN Member States at the UN General Assembly meeting on AIDS in New York next week.

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Editors Notes

  • The 2008 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting brings together a diverse group of stakeholders – government representatives, donors, multilateral agencies, UN organizations, civil society, networks of people living with HIV and many others.
  • The International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) is a global partnership of nationally-based organizations working to support communities to reduce the spread of HIV and meet the challenge of AIDS. The Alliance provide support to organizations from more than 40 developing countries for over 3,000 projects, reaching some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities with HIV prevention, care, support and improved access to treatment. www.aidsalliance.org
  • The Global Network of People living with HIV and AIDS (GNP+) is the global entity operated by and for people living with HIV/AIDS through partner networks in six different regions of the world. Through its Global Advocacy Agenda, GNP+ aims to increase universal access to treatment, care and prevention services; fight stigma and discrimination; and improve the meaningful involvement of people living with HIV.
  • ‘Key populations’ are groups that are of higher risk of being infected of affected by HIV, or play a key role in how HIV spreads, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users.
  • Key populations vary according to local context. In 2007 around 2.5 million people were newly infected with HIV and over 2 million people died of HIV-related illnesses.