Russia: Parliament to consider requirement for certificate indicating HIV status before marriage

Russians may be obliged to report their HIV status before getting married

The decision on the need to provide certificates has already been taken in Ingushetia.

In the State Duma it has been proposed to require Russians to disclose their HIV status before marriage. This proposal was expressed in conversation with the tg-channel “Abzats” deputy Vitaly Milonov. The decision on the need to provide certificates has already been adopted in Ingushetia.

Milonov said that he supports such an initiative and considers it worthy of being adopted at the federal level. The obligation to provide a certificate confirming the absence of HIV, he said, “will save families from many risks”.

The Ingush authorities are discussing the possibility of a complete ban on marriage without a certificate. As well as fines for the parents of the groom, in case the marriage broke up due to detected deception.

Milonov suggested softening the law at the federal level and not to prohibit marriage because of a positive certificate, as the decision should be made by the spouses themselves.

Россиян могут обязать отчитываться о своем ВИЧ-статусе перед заключением бракаРешение о необходимости предоставления справок уже приняли в Ингушетии.

В Госдуме предложили обязать россиян отчитываться о своем ВИЧ-статусе перед заключением брака. Такое предложение высказал в разговоре с тг-каналом «Абзац» депутат Виталий Милонов. Решение о необходимости предоставления справок уже приняли в Ингушетии.

Милонов заявил, что поддерживает подобную инициативу и считает ее достойной федерального уровня. Обязанность предоставлять справку, подтверждающую отсутствие ВИЧ, по его словам, «спасет семьи от многих рисков».

Напомним, что власти Ингушетии обсуждают возможность полного запрета на вступление в брак без справки. А также штрафы для родителей жениха, в случае если брак распался из-за выявленного обмана.

Милонов предлагает смягчить закон на федеральном уровне и не запрещать бракосочетание из-за справки с положительным результатом, так как решение должны принимать сами супруги.

Belize: Senate follows House of Representatives and votes for repeal of HIV criminalisation law

Law which makes it a crime to spread HIV repealed

Ву Ааrоn Нumеѕ: Fоllоwіng frоm thе Ноuѕе оf Rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ, thе Ѕеnаtе соnѕіdеrеd thе аmеndmеntѕ tо thе Сrіmіnаl Соdе, ѕресіfісаllу ѕесtіоnѕ 46(а) аnd 73(а) соnсеrnіng сrіmіnаl rеѕроnѕіbіlіtу fоr trаnѕmіѕѕіоn оf thе humаn іmmunоdеfісіеnсу vіruѕ (НІV) whісh lеаdѕ tо Асquіrеd Іmmunоdеfісіеnсу Ѕуndrоmе (АІDЅ).

Іn thе Ноuѕе, Міnіѕtеr оf Неаlth, Кеvіn Веrnаrd, ѕtаtеd: “Рunіtіvе lаwѕ аrе nоt thе mоѕt еffесtіvе wау tо соmbаt thіѕ еріdеmіс. Тhеу саn, іn fасt, роѕе ѕіgnіfісаnt bаrrіеrѕ tо НІV рrеvеntіоn, trеаtmеnt, аnd саrе. Ву сrіmіnаlіzіng thе trаnѕmіѕѕіоn оf НІV/АІDЅ, wе run thе rіѕk оf drіvіng thе dіѕеаѕе undеrgrоund, dіѕсоurаgіng thоѕе аt rіѕk frоm ѕееkіng tеѕtіng, соunѕеlіng, аnd trеаtmеnt fоr fеаr оf lеgаl rерrіѕаl. Тhеrеfоrе, Маdаm Ѕреаkеr, thе Міnіѕtrу оf Неаlth аnd Wеllnеѕѕ fіrmlу bеlіеvеѕ thаt thе bаttlе аgаіnѕt НІV/АІDЅ ѕhоuld nоt bе fоught іn thе соurtrооm, but іn оur соmmunіtіеѕ, оur hоѕріtаlѕ, аnd оur сlіnісѕ. Wе ѕhоuld fосuѕ оur еffоrtѕ оn еduсаtіоn, рrеvеntіоn, саrе, аnd ѕuрроrt rаthеr thаn рunіѕhmеnt. Wе ѕhоuld аіm tо rеduсе thе ѕtіgmа аnd dіѕсrіmіnаtіоn thаt ѕurrоundѕ thіѕ dіѕеаѕе tо еnсоurаgе mоrе реорlе tо gеt tеѕtеd, tо knоw thеіr ѕtаtuѕ, аnd tо ѕееk trеаtmеnt. Аnd ѕо, dеfіnіtеlу, Маdаm Ѕреаkеr, thе rереаl оf thіѕ ѕесtіоn, 46А, аnd 73А, іѕ а ѕtер tоwаrdѕ а mоrе соmраѕѕіоnаtе, mоrе еffесtіvе аррrоасh tо аddrеѕѕіng НІV/АІDЅ.”

Іn thе Ѕеnаtе, Місhаеl Реуrеfіttе ѕuggеѕtеd аn ехсерtіоn fоr іnѕtаnсеѕ оf rаре аnd ѕехuаl аѕѕаult, роіntіng оut thаt а rаріѕt іѕ nоt lіkеlу tо rеvеаl thеіr НІV ѕtаtuѕ bеfоrе соmmіttіng thе асt.

Ѕеnаtоr Јаnеllе Сhаnоnа rесаllеd hеr јоurnаlіѕm dауѕ аnd nоtеd thаt ѕtіgmа аnd dіѕсrіmіnаtіоn rеmаіn rеаl fоr реrѕоnѕ wіth НІV аnd thаt а dіѕсuѕѕіоn оn ѕехuаl hеаlth аnd рrоtесtіоn іѕ nееdеd mоrе thаn еvеr.

Веlіzе hаѕ аvеrаgеd mоrе thаn 200 іnfесtіоnѕ frоm НІV реr уеаr іn thе lаѕt dесаdе wіth а hаndful оf dеаthѕ rероrtеd.

US: New Mexico looking at introducing HIV Criminalisation law for negligent exposure to HIV

HIV cases could prompt new legislation over spa practices

“A bill and legislation put forth that would criminalize this specific behavior is most definitely warranted. We would support it for sure,” the NM Attorney General’s office said.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

VIP Beauty Salon and Spa in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was shut down on Sept. 7, 2018, after undergoing an inspection by the New Mexico Department of Health. According to NMDOH, they identified practices that led to blood-borne infections. As of 2023, five former clients have been infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).

X, 62, pleaded guilty to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license in June 2022. On October 5, 2022, X was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

What is a ‘Vampire Facial?’

  • Plasma-rich protein facial.
  • Procedure draws blood, then separates plasma from the blood using a centrifuge.
  • Injects plasma into your skin (face) to create a “youthful look.”

“This would be a situation where people who were infected would be dealing with it in the court system. There are some ways that prosecutors can use existing laws to address this exposure, especially if you could point out that there’s basically criminal negligence, if that’s the case,” KOAT legal analyst John Day said.

“New Mexico hasn’t chosen to criminalize the exposure the way other states have. That’s certainly an issue that could be addressed. However, it points out the importance of doing research. If you’re going into any kind of medical clinic, you need to be doing some due diligence. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” Day added.

Belize: Parliament approves repeal of HIV criminalisation provisions

Outdated HIV-AIDS laws removed from books

by Marco Lopez

BELMOPAN, Fri. June 30, 2023

The Criminal Code was amended during Friday’s Sitting of the House of Representatives to repeal provisions related to the deliberate and reckless spreading of HIV-AIDS. During his presentation on the amendment, Minister of Health and Wellness, Hon. Kevin Bernard explained that the punitive laws pose barriers to treating the illness. The bill, which was taken through all its stages and passed, will go to the Senate for final assent and is aimed at encouraging infected persons to seek treatment.

Hon. Dolores Balderamos Garcia rose to remind the House that 22 years ago she was the member who brought the amendments to the National Assembly.

“It really is a momentous day for me – on this particular repeal proposal. I must admit to the honorable House that some 22 years ago, I was the minister at the time who really pushed and promoted the criminalization of the knowing or reckless transmission of HIV. We felt at the time, Madam Speaker, that it was the correct and responsible thing to do, and it may have had its day, like I say, 22, 23 years ago,” Balderamos Garcia said.

Since then, the creation of antiretroviral medication to treat HIV has made the ailment one that infected persons can live with. The human rights approach in tackling the HIV endemic has resulted in a shift of methodology in addressing the stigma and discrimination which prevent persons from getting to know their status and seeking treatment.

The repeal of the law also remedies an unintended effect of the legislation which criminalized infected mothers who would transmit the virus to their offspring during childbirth.

She maintained that other areas of the Criminal Code can address cases of reckless transmission of the virus, and explained that the spread of other sexually transmitted illnesses like the Human Papillomavirus or gonorrhea were not criminalized.

All these bills were taken through all stages during Friday’s sitting and will go to the Senate for assent.

US: Kentucky removes felony penalties for people living with HIV who donate organs and for the possession of HIV self-tests

Newly legal at-home HIV test kits to be distributed

A new law taking effect on Thursday nullifies two HIV-related felonies in state law, and advocacy groups will celebrate by handing out HIV self-test kits.

What You Need To Know

House Bill 349 takes effect on Thursday, which decriminalizes HIV self-test kits

Advocates will distribute free kits Thursday in Louisville and Lexington

HB 349 also removes felony penalties for people who donate organs, skin or other human tissue while being HIV positive

 

Kentucky’s “HIV Is Not a Crime Coalition” announced it will hold events in Louisville and Lexington on Thursday, June 29, to distribute free HIV home-test kits legally for the first time ever in Kentucky.

In Louisville, the kits will be available starting at 11 a.m. outside the headquarters of VOCAL-KY at 4th Street and Broadway. In Lexington, kits will be distributed starting at 1 p.m. at the AVOL office at 1824 Hill Rise Dr. Suite 100.

House Bill 349, which earned bipartisan passage during the 2023 legislative session, takes effect on Thursday. Among other things, the measure addresses two HIV-related issues: it removes felony penalties for people who donate organs, skin or other human tissue while being HIV positive, and it decriminalizes the possession or use of HIV self-tests.

Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed HB 349 into law on March 31, and it has been hailed as one of the most sweeping HIV modernization laws in the nation, according to the Kentucky Fairness Campaign.

US: Nearly 200 people have been charged under Ohio’s antiquated HIV-criminalization laws

Ohio’s ‘unjust’ HIV-criminalization laws still in effect, state’s revised code shows

by:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio is home to several statutes criminalizing HIV, including a felony charge and prison sentence for those with the virus who fail to disclose their status to sexual partners.

HIV-positive Ohioans can be charged with second-degree felonious assault and receive a prison sentence of up to eight years for engaging in sexual conduct without divulging their medical history, Ohio’s Revised Code states. Ohio law also bars those with HIV from donating blood or plasma and penalizes those individuals for exposing others to their bodily fluid, like by spitting or biting.

However, HIV is not transmitted through saliva or unbroken skin and there are no documented cases of the virus spreading through spitting, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those living with HIV also cannot pass the virus through sex when they have reached an undetectable level of HIV in their blood, achieved through medication estimated to be 100% effective.

These antiquated laws have more severe punishments than for reckless homicide, sexual battery, or arson, according to the Ohio Health Modernization Movement. The organization has led the movement calling for reform of Ohio’s provisions that “incorrectly assume an HIV diagnosis is a death sentence.”

“The impact of Ohio’s unjust HIV laws reach far beyond their original intention,” the OHMM said. “They are unproductive because they are unsupported by science. This has led to unjust felony convictions that punish not only the perceived perpetrator, but the community at large.”

Nearly 200 charges under Ohio’s HIV-criminalization laws

One hundred and ninety-two cases across 65 Ohio counties have been confirmed to be connected to statutes criminalizing HIV, according to the OHMM. Of those cases, 104 have been charged for spitting, 60 for felonious assault, 13 for solicitation, four for loitering and one for prostitution.

The OHMM argues the HIV-related criminal prosecutions, of which more than a dozen have been tried in the last few years, are costly. Ohio spends more than $1 billion a year to run its prison system, at a cost of more than $25,000 an inmate.

“The money spent to incarcerate people under HIV criminal laws would be better spent on HIV prevention efforts and supporting the over 20,000 Ohioans living with HIV,” the organization said.

Further, there is no evidence that HIV criminalization laws promote public health by increasing disclosure, HIV testing or practice of safe sex, the OHMM said. The laws have also had zero impact on rates of HIV diagnosis.

The OHMM has built a coalition with Equality Ohio, Equitas Health and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to call for significant alterations to Ohio’s Revised Code. The group proposals outline several changes including requiring prosecution to prove that a person intentionally transmitted HIV and switching all HIV-specific charges from a felony to a misdemeanor.

“Ohio’s six separate HIV criminalization laws are not based in science, they do not promote public health, and they perpetuate dangerous stigma against people living with HIV,” the organization said. “The time to modernize Ohio’s HIV laws is now.”

Thousands in Ohio living with HIV

More than 27,000 Ohioans are living with HIV and nearly 9,000 are taking a form of medication called PrEP, according to data from AIDSVu and the Ohio Department of Health.

PrEP is a once-daily pill taken to reduce a patient’s likelihood of developing HIV from sex or injection drug use. PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed, according to the CDC.

There are two pills available for use as PrEP: Truvada and Descovy. Truvada is for patients at risk through sex or injection drug use, while Descovy is for patients only at risk through sex. PrEP can also be taken through a shot known as Apretude.

Data shows the number of PrEP prescriptions in Ohio has been steadily increasing while the rate of transmission has been slowly decreasing over the past decade.

However, a federal ruling recently struck down provisions requiring health insurance to provide free preventative care services, like PrEP. In response to the ruling, the Justice Department requested a court order to halt the decision while the case is appealed. In the interim, insurers and employers are able to decide whether to continue covering preventative healthcare.

Still, programs have been established that provide PrEP for free or at a reduced cost. Learn more here.

Belize: Government approves amendment to outdated section of the Criminal Code related to HIV transmission

Belize Govt to amend legislation dealing with HIV transmission

The Belize government is to seek parliamentary approval to amend a section of the Criminal Code as it relates to HIV transmission from mother to child.

The Ministry of Human Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness had proposed that there be a change to the legislation that currently allows an HIV-positive person knowingly engaging in risky sexual behaviour and infecting another carries a penalty and that included mother to child transmission.

Human Development Minister Dolores Balderamos-Garcia said 22 years ago, Parliament  passed a law making it a criminal offense to what “we would say knowingly transmit HIV.

“Now, back then, HIV was quite frightening because it was before the days of the anti-retroviral medications and before we learnt more about the human rights approach as we call it. So we did pass an amendment to the Criminal Code, making it an offense to know that you have HIV and to be engaging in risky sexual behaviour. So we went ahead and did that.”

But  Balderamos-Garcia said after many years later, health authorities here have come to realise not only that it was unnecessary, but also that it flies in the face of modern human rights norms, especially as it comes to the health issues.

“So the Ministry of Human Development, myself, and also Minister Kevin Bernard and the Ministry of Health, we decided – of course based on the recommendation of partners – that it is really time to remove [it]”.

“What it did was it attracts unnecessary attention and further stigmatises the issue of HIV. I mean there are other sexually transmitted infections which are in the mix, if we could say, but it wasn’t necessary to cause the stigma and discrimination further on the HIV.”

Balderamos-Garcia said other sections of the Criminal Code can suffice where somebody does something very reckless or deliberate, but in relation to what has happened now in the evolution of the fight against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, “it is not necessary to have that law now for the certification, as they call it and the validation that we are removing the mother to child transmission of HIV then in terms of the international norms, we have to remove that penal provision.

“So we are very pleased to do it and I can report that Cabinet has approved and it is a joint paper of the Ministry of Human Development and the Ministry of Health,” she told reporters.

New HIV Justice Academy content: Lessons from the Central African Republic’s HIV law reform success

In the mid-2000s, many countries across Africa adopted HIV laws. Many of these laws contained important protections covering discrimination, privacy, and access to medications. Unfortunately, they also included overly broad and ill-informed HIV criminalisation provisions.

The Central Africa Republic (CAR) adopted an HIV law in 2006 which not only criminalised HIV non-disclosure, exposure or transmission, it also required people living with HIV to undergo treatment as prescribed by a doctor and engage in protected sex and an obligation to disclose their HIV-positive status to sexual partners.

Given the significant problems with these aspects of the law, multiple law reform attempts were made but none were successful until a new law – Law 22-016 on HIV and AIDS in the Central African Republic – was finally enacted on 18 November 2022.

How did it happen? What changed? Why was the law finally reformed?

Christian Tshimbalanga is a lawyer from the Democratic Republic of Congo with many years’ experience working on human rights and HIV in Africa. Through his work with UNAIDS, Christian provided critical support to the law reform process following it through until Parliament voted on the law. Cécile Kazatchkine (Senior Policy Analyst at the HIV Legal Network) asked Christian to share lessons learned to help others working to reform problematic HIV laws.

Their 25 minute, French-language audio conversation is now available as an additional case study in Chapter 5 of the HIV Justice Academy’s free HIV Criminalisation Online Course: How to advocate against HIV criminalisation. A translated transcript of the conversation is also available in the English, Spanish and Russian version of the course.

Christian’s role was to accompany the process until the law was voted on in Parliament. Several elements of Christian’s account stood out for us:

  • In his role as an UNAIDS representative and technical partner, Christian was able to devote significant time to the law reform process, monitoring what was happening and pushing the bill through each stage of the process. Having a dedicated person on the ground to accompany the legislative process on a day-to-day basis was critical to the success.
  • Civil society was a key partner. The Central African Network of People Living with HIV (RECAPEV) and the Central African Network on Ethics and Rights (RCED) pushed hard for the law to be revised. UNAIDS provided them with a small amount of financial support which enabled them to increase their capacity to sustain this advocacy.
  • Local partners and international organisations were also partners in the law reform efforts, including the National AIDS Council (CNLS), the Ministry of Health and the Minister of Justice, as well as UNDP, UNAIDS, and the French Red Cross (the principal recipient of Global Fund funding in CAR).
  • A memorandum outlining the new bill was drafted by various stakeholders including civil society. It informed parliamentarians about the relevant public health and human rights issues and the scientific evidence related to HIV.
  • Following the example of a previous forum in Madagascar on a draft law on sexual and reproductive health, a forum was organised for (primarily male) parliamentarians and their (female) spouses. Because issues of this intimate nature are often discussed in the home, involving spouses was strategic. Several people living with HIV opened the forum by talking about their lived realities and the persistence of HIV-related stigma and discrimination in CAR.

While worthy of celebration, the new legislation is not a complete victory. It does not fully decriminalise HIV but it does provide a much narrower definition of the prohibited conduct. Under the 2006 law, a person living with HIV could be prosecuted simply for HIV ‘exposure’ without neither intent nor transmission. The 2022 Act criminalises “intentional transmission of the virus,” defined as, inter alia, the fact that a person who knows his or her status intentionally transmits the virus through unprotected sexual relations without disclosing his or her seropositivity. A list of circumstances where the criminal law should not be applied is also included (e.g., in the case of transmission of the virus from a mother to her child).

For more information on the 2022 Act, see the HIV Justice Network’s Global HIV Criminalisation Database.

To enrol in the HIV Criminalisation Online Course, visit the HIV Justice Academy and sign up.  It’s free!

  

 

 

 

US: Tennessee changes its criminal exposure law

News Release from CHLP: Exposure to HIV Removed from Offenses Requiring Sex Offender Registration in Tennessee

Exposure to HIV Removed from Offenses Requiring Sex Offender Registration in Tennessee

People living with HIV convicted of criminal exposure can request to terminate registration requirements with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

(NEW YORK) – On May 17, 2023, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 0807/House Bill 832 into law after it passed the House and Senate in April. The law removes criminal exposure to HIV from the list of violent sexual offenses where a conviction required an individual to register as a sex offender for life. The law will go into effect on July 1, 2023. The bill was sponsored by Republican Rep. Bud Hulsey.

Tennessee is one of 30 states that have HIV-specific criminal laws. Under current Tennessee law, people living with HIV (PLHIV) or hepatitis B or C may still be charged and convicted of a felony for engaging in sexual activities without disclosing their status. While the amended law removes the heightened penalty for exposure, it does not remove aggravated prostitution from the list of violent sexual offenses requiring registration as a sex offender, so there remains a heightened penalty for PLHIV who know their status to engage in sex work.

“This change is a win for people living with HIV in Tennessee who are on the registry for life for an exposure conviction,” said CHLP Staff Attorney Jada Hicks. “Forcing people living with HIV to register as sex offenders for consensual sexual activity further criminalizes them and does nothing to enhance public safety. It is past time that stigmatizing HIV laws in Tennessee and other states catch up with the science of HIV transmission.”

As of April 2022, more than 70 people were on Tennessee’s registry for an HIV exposure charge. With the passage of SB 0807, anyone convicted of criminal exposure to HIV prior to July 1, 2023, may file a request to terminate registration requirements with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).

“The law that Governor Lee signed is about to change my life. For the past 16 years I’ve been depressed, looking over my shoulder, and just being scared of messing up,” said Tennessee advocate Lashanda Salinas. “This law is going to finally let me have my life back. I can see family, my cousins, and attend family reunions and participate in things.”

Republican Rep. Bob Ramsey, who sponsored the House version of the bill, argued that the laws needed to be updated “to look at this disease in a more realistic light and try to destigmatize it so that we could identify it and treat it, more so than trying to punish it.”

Those registered as sex offenders for a conviction of criminal exposure to HIV who wish to have their names removed can do so through a fingerprint-based state and federal criminal history check process to determine whether additional convictions exist for sexual offenses or violent sexual offenses. If the requirements of the amendment are satisfied, TBI will remove the individual from the registry and notify them that they are no longer required to comply with the registration requirements.

If the TBI determines that the person would be required to register even if the offense had been committed on or after July 1, 2023, or that they had been convicted of any additional sexual offenses or violent sexual offenses during the period of registration, then they must remain on the registry. Under the bill, the TBI’s decisions can be appealed, allowing for judicial review by the courts.

Uganda: Bill retaining death penalty for having gay sex when HIV positive sent back to President for signing

Uganda parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ bill mostly unchanged

KAMPALA, May 2 (Reuters) – Uganda’s parliament on Tuesday passed one of the world’s strictest anti-LGBTQ bills mostly unchanged, including provision for long jail terms and the death penalty, after the president requested some parts of the original legislation be toned down.

The new bill retains most of the harshest measures of the legislation adopted in March, which drew condemnation from the United States, European Union, United Nations and major corporations.

The provisions retained in the new bill allow for the death penalty in cases of so-called “aggravated homosexuality”, a term the government uses to describe actions including having gay sex when HIV-positive.

It allows a 20-year sentence for promoting homosexuality, which activists say could criminalise any advocacy for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer citizens.

The legislation now heads back to President Yoweri Museveni, who can sign it, veto it or return it again to parliament.

Museveni, a vocal opponent of LGBTQ rights, has signalled he intends to sign the legislation once certain changes are made, including the addition of measures to “rehabilitate” gay people.

It was not immediately clear if the new bill satisfied his requests, and his office was not available for comment.

The legislation was amended to stipulate that merely identifying as LGBTQ is not a crime. It also revised a measure that obliged people to report homosexual activity to only require reporting when a child is involved.

‘USELESS’ AMENDMENT

Human rights activist Adrian Jjuuko dismissed the first amendment regarding LGBTQ identification as “useless”.

“In practice, the police doesn’t care about whether you’ve committed the act or not. They will arrest you for acting like gay, walking like gay,” he said.

Same-sex relations are already illegal in Uganda under a British colonial-era law. LGBTQ individuals routinely face arrest and harassment by law enforcement, and passage of the bill in March unleashed a wave of arrests, evictions and mob attacks, members of the community say.

Proponents of the bill say broad legislation is needed to counter what they allege, without evidence, are efforts by LGBTQ Ugandans to recruit children into homosexuality.

After a voice vote on Tuesday that followed less than a half-hour of debate, parliament speaker Anita Among urged lawmakers to remain defiant in the face of international criticism.

“Let’s protect Ugandans, let’s protect our values, our virtues,” Among said. “The Western world will not come and rule Uganda.”

Western governments suspended aid, imposed visa restrictions and curtailed security cooperation in response to another anti-LGBTQ law Museveni signed in 2014. That law was nullified within months by a domestic court on procedural grounds.

The U.S. government said last week that it was assessing the implications of the looming law for activities in Uganda under its flagship HIV/AIDS programme.