Month: February 2019

There is a quiet air of excitement at the offices of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), as the countdown draws closer to Friday when a much-awaited ruling by Kenya’s High Court could make history.

The charity has fought hundreds of cases of abuse against sexual minorities in Kenya’s courts, but the verdict on whether to scrap British colonial-era laws criminalizing gay sex is undoubtedly their most eagerly anticipated case.

“We are excited and cautiously optimistic — but optimistic nonetheless,” Lelei Cheruto from NGLHRC, one of the groups petitioning the court to decriminalize gay sex, told Reuters.

“A positive ruling will mean sexual minorities in Kenya will have the freedom to exist. It will be a step towards their inclusion in society. We feel we have a very solid case.”

Homosexuality is taboo in the East African nation and persecution of sexual minorities is rife. Under sections of Kenya’s penal code, gay sex — or “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” — is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Campaigners say the laws have long promoted homophobia in the largely conservative Christian country — and are used daily to persecute and discriminate against sexual minorities.

They face prejudice in getting jobs, renting housing or seeking medical care or education.

Hate crimes like blackmail, extortion, physical and sexual assault are common — but most are too fearful to go to the police due to their sexual orientation, say rights groups.

A positive judgment would not only give rights and dignity to sexual minorities in Kenya, say campaigners, but will inject impetus into battles being waged by persecuted LGBT people across Africa.

“People across the continent are watching the Kenyan case very closely,” said Anthony Oluoch from Pan Africa ILGA, a global charity advocating for the rights of sexual minorities.

“There are laws in many African countries that criminalize same-sex relationships, so if we get a positive ruling in Kenya it will give hope to the continent.”

#LoveIsHuman

Same-sex relationships are a crime in more than 70 countries around the world, almost half of them in Africa. South Africa is the only African nation to have legalized gay marriage.

The law against gay sex in Kenya — sections 162 and 165 — was introduced during British rule more than 120 years ago.

In 2010, Kenya adopted its new constitution, which provides for equality, human dignity and freedom from discrimination.

Petitioners now want the sections of the law repealed, saying they violate constitutional rights.

However, the Kenyan government, backed by powerful Christian groups, is opposed to scrapping the ban on gay sex and argued during court hearings last year that it will lead to same-sex marriage.

A three-judge bench of the High Court is expected to give its verdict on Feb. 22. Both sides can appeal against the ruling in higher courts.

Since the date of the ruling was announced in October, LGBT activists across the world have been counting down the days on social media with hashtags such as #WeAreAllKenyans, #LoveIsHuman and #Repeal162.

“This judgment has real potential to change the lived experience of hundreds of thousands of people in Kenya,” said Tea Braun, director of the UK-based campaign group, the Human Dignity Trust.

“A positive verdict will declare that LGBT+ people are not criminals. It will be a reckoning for society where Kenya will show the world that it upholds the principals of freedom, liberty and justice.”

Campaigners say their optimism is justified — pointing to recent progressive rulings by courts as well as governments across the world supporting the rights of LGBT+ people — which they believe Kenya’s judges will consider.

In September, for example, India’s Supreme Court threw out similar colonial-era legislation in a landmark ruling in the world’s largest democracy.

While last month, the Angolan government shed the “vices against nature” provision in its law, which was widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexual conduct.

The fact these moves came from countries in the developing world — which Kenyans can easily identify with — rather than Western nations which are often blamed for “importing homosexuality,” should lie in their favor, say petitioners.

There has even been progress at home, they add, citing a ruling by Kenya’s Court of Appeal in March which found it illegal to force people suspected of being homosexual to undergo anal examinations.

Reinvigorating Africa

A positive ruling will have wider implications across Africa, which has some of the most prohibitive laws against homosexuality in the world, say campaigners.

Same-sex relationships are considered taboo and are a crime across most of the continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death.

A 2017 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) found 33 African countries, out of a total of 54, criminalize same-sex relations.

The persecution of LGBT Africans is also widespread, with sexual minorities routinely being abused, blackmailed, assaulted by mobs, or even raped by police or vigilantes.

“Kenya is an important and influential country in Africa and there has been a lot of conversation around the continent about the court case,” said Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian gay rights activist who was forced to flee persecution and seek asylum in Britain.

“It would be a huge inspiration and a morale boost to LGBT+ people across Africa. It will reinvigorate LGBT+ rights campaigns in many countries. People will feel more emboldened to talk about their sexuality and fight for their rights.”

A positive verdict will also influence court decisions in countries like Botswana where the top court is set to rule on overturning similar legislation in March, campaigners add.

Petitioners, however, acknowledge there is likely to be a long road ahead — whether the ruling is in their favor or not.

Both sides have the option to take the case before the Court of Appeal and further to the Supreme Court.

They also admit that even if same-sex relations are decriminalized, challenges in changing deep-rooted homophobic attitudes in society remain.

“We are aware things aren’t going to change overnight and discrimination and persecution are likely to persist for years to come,” said Cheruto, adding that sustained advocacy and public awareness campaigns would be needed to sensitize people.

“It’s been a long journey already, but we are prepared for the road ahead — no matter how difficult it may be.”
…

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There is a quiet air of excitement at the offices of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), as the countdown draws closer to Friday when a much-awaited ruling by Kenya’s High Court could make history.

The charity has fought hundreds of cases of abuse against sexual minorities in Kenya’s courts, but the verdict on whether to scrap British colonial-era laws criminalizing gay sex is undoubtedly their most eagerly anticipated case.

“We are excited and cautiously optimistic — but optimistic nonetheless,” Lelei Cheruto from NGLHRC, one of the groups petitioning the court to decriminalize gay sex, told Reuters.

“A positive ruling will mean sexual minorities in Kenya will have the freedom to exist. It will be a step towards their inclusion in society. We feel we have a very solid case.”

Homosexuality is taboo in the East African nation and persecution of sexual minorities is rife. Under sections of Kenya’s penal code, gay sex — or “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” — is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Campaigners say the laws have long promoted homophobia in the largely conservative Christian country — and are used daily to persecute and discriminate against sexual minorities.

They face prejudice in getting jobs, renting housing or seeking medical care or education.

Hate crimes like blackmail, extortion, physical and sexual assault are common — but most are too fearful to go to the police due to their sexual orientation, say rights groups.

A positive judgment would not only give rights and dignity to sexual minorities in Kenya, say campaigners, but will inject impetus into battles being waged by persecuted LGBT people across Africa.

“People across the continent are watching the Kenyan case very closely,” said Anthony Oluoch from Pan Africa ILGA, a global charity advocating for the rights of sexual minorities.

“There are laws in many African countries that criminalize same-sex relationships, so if we get a positive ruling in Kenya it will give hope to the continent.”

#LoveIsHuman

Same-sex relationships are a crime in more than 70 countries around the world, almost half of them in Africa. South Africa is the only African nation to have legalized gay marriage.

The law against gay sex in Kenya — sections 162 and 165 — was introduced during British rule more than 120 years ago.

In 2010, Kenya adopted its new constitution, which provides for equality, human dignity and freedom from discrimination.

Petitioners now want the sections of the law repealed, saying they violate constitutional rights.

However, the Kenyan government, backed by powerful Christian groups, is opposed to scrapping the ban on gay sex and argued during court hearings last year that it will lead to same-sex marriage.

A three-judge bench of the High Court is expected to give its verdict on Feb. 22. Both sides can appeal against the ruling in higher courts.

Since the date of the ruling was announced in October, LGBT activists across the world have been counting down the days on social media with hashtags such as #WeAreAllKenyans, #LoveIsHuman and #Repeal162.

“This judgment has real potential to change the lived experience of hundreds of thousands of people in Kenya,” said Tea Braun, director of the UK-based campaign group, the Human Dignity Trust.

“A positive verdict will declare that LGBT+ people are not criminals. It will be a reckoning for society where Kenya will show the world that it upholds the principals of freedom, liberty and justice.”

Campaigners say their optimism is justified — pointing to recent progressive rulings by courts as well as governments across the world supporting the rights of LGBT+ people — which they believe Kenya’s judges will consider.

In September, for example, India’s Supreme Court threw out similar colonial-era legislation in a landmark ruling in the world’s largest democracy.

While last month, the Angolan government shed the “vices against nature” provision in its law, which was widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexual conduct.

The fact these moves came from countries in the developing world — which Kenyans can easily identify with — rather than Western nations which are often blamed for “importing homosexuality,” should lie in their favor, say petitioners.

There has even been progress at home, they add, citing a ruling by Kenya’s Court of Appeal in March which found it illegal to force people suspected of being homosexual to undergo anal examinations.

Reinvigorating Africa

A positive ruling will have wider implications across Africa, which has some of the most prohibitive laws against homosexuality in the world, say campaigners.

Same-sex relationships are considered taboo and are a crime across most of the continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death.

A 2017 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) found 33 African countries, out of a total of 54, criminalize same-sex relations.

The persecution of LGBT Africans is also widespread, with sexual minorities routinely being abused, blackmailed, assaulted by mobs, or even raped by police or vigilantes.

“Kenya is an important and influential country in Africa and there has been a lot of conversation around the continent about the court case,” said Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian gay rights activist who was forced to flee persecution and seek asylum in Britain.

“It would be a huge inspiration and a morale boost to LGBT+ people across Africa. It will reinvigorate LGBT+ rights campaigns in many countries. People will feel more emboldened to talk about their sexuality and fight for their rights.”

A positive verdict will also influence court decisions in countries like Botswana where the top court is set to rule on overturning similar legislation in March, campaigners add.

Petitioners, however, acknowledge there is likely to be a long road ahead — whether the ruling is in their favor or not.

Both sides have the option to take the case before the Court of Appeal and further to the Supreme Court.

They also admit that even if same-sex relations are decriminalized, challenges in changing deep-rooted homophobic attitudes in society remain.

“We are aware things aren’t going to change overnight and discrimination and persecution are likely to persist for years to come,” said Cheruto, adding that sustained advocacy and public awareness campaigns would be needed to sensitize people.

“It’s been a long journey already, but we are prepared for the road ahead — no matter how difficult it may be.”
…

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Sprawling teak forests, planted nearly a century ago to supply lumber and government income, are fast disappearing in South Sudan as timber companies take advantage of the country’s chaos to extract large amounts of wood, environmentalists say.

The rapid felling threatens worsening erosion and environmental damage in the country, and has provoked uprisings by local communities, who have not received promised roads and other assistance as part of timber extraction deals, they say.

“There is a concern by the way the teak is cut in South Sudan and this will have some serious negative impacts on the people and the environment,” warned Bio Kuer, executive director of the Juba-based Nile Initiative for Health and Environment.

Timber harvesting “has to be lawfully (managed) by a competent authority – which is the government of South Sudan – and not by cartels like what we are seeing now,” the scientist said.

British colonists planted thousands of hectares of teak plantations in southern Sudan in the 1940s, as an industrial source of timber.

That has given South Sudan today some of the largest stands of the valuable hardwood trees in Africa, though the extent of the forests remaining is not clearly documented.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimated in 2007 that the teak, if sustainably harvested, could generate up to $50 million a year in export revenue for South Sudan.

But teak exports currently bring the beleaguered nation only about $1 million to $2 million year, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Protests

The rapid felling of South Sudan’s teak forests, largely by foreign-owned firms, has drawn protests from residents living near the forests, who say they were promised benefits in exchange for the loss of the wood.

According to logging concession agreements signed between the government and timber firms, the inhabitants of areas where trees are commercially cut are supposed to receive job opportunities and social development projects.

But in Katire, a village in the Eastern region of South Sudan, community members say they have seen little benefit from large-scale cutting, despite repeated meetings with timber company officials.

“We told them to start with roads so that they can be able to transport the timber but they are just moving on the bad roads with a lot of potholes,” said Lodofiko Khamis, 74, one Katire-area resident.

“If these teak trees become extinct, then Katire will just remain an undeveloped jungle,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

In the area, about three to four hours drive from the capital Juba, roads are so poor that rains can leave rural families cut off from town for days or weeks, he said.

Katire has only one primary health care center to serve thousands of people, and it has too few medical personnel and drugs, Khamis said, forcing residents to sometimes trek for days to reach Torit, the nearest town, for better access to healthcare.

In 2016, a Ugandan teak company was stopped from working near Katire after failing to fulfill a promise to build a school and roads in the area, according to Timothy Thuol Onak, the director-general for forestry in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Katire residents accused the company of overworking and underpaying laborers, and growing resentment eventually led some angry residents to burn company machinery and demand the national government end the contract, Thuol said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The owner of the company at that time denied the charges of overwork and underpay, and said efforts to build infrastructure for the community had faced setbacks largely because of unrest in the country.

Other timber companies operating in South Sudan also have signed concession agreements promising local benefits, but those “have remained on paper” for the most part, Thuol said.

Near Katire, where foreign firms continue to fell trees under legal concessions, the only clear evidence of promised community development is a concrete foundation put in place for a promised new health center.

Government Withdrawal

Thuol said that when he graduated from the University of Juba and started working for what was then the government of Sudan in 1979, forestry was government run, with government workers cutting timber and profits going into national coffers.

But “what is happening now is not the government,” he said.

Local and foreign companies have taken over the production and export of timber in South Sudan, and their actions have raised concerns “about the new type of forestry management that was made after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” a 2005 deal that eventually led to South Sudan’s independence, the director-general said.

Many of the firms are not cutting the forests in a way that allows them to regrow, he said, raising an increasing risk that a once-renewable resource will vanish.

Under concession agreements, two government foresters are supposed to oversee the work of each private felling company – but that is not happening, Thuol said.

Meanwhile there a “tug of war” between the states and national governments over who should collect the revenue from forest harvesting.

Under concession deals, the national government should receive $150-$200 per cubic meter of wood cut, with an additional small sum going to county authorities.

A cubic meter of mature teak wood can be worth more than $1,000 on international markets, dealers say.

But “the states are saying they have been left with nothing and they need to get some money. So they have grabbed some of the plantations,” Thuol said.

Logging firms are also supposed to pay operating taxes and custom duties on timber exports, Thuol said – though teak dealers in Juba said wood is sometimes moved across borders without paying the fees.

Environmental experts say the relatively unmanaged and unsustainable harvesting could have serious environmental and climate change impacts.

“In areas where trees have been cut completely, you begin to see soil erosion taking place because when it rains the speed at which the water is running is no longer broken by anything,” said Kuer of the Nile Initiative.

“And when the soil is eroded, any farming activity in that area will be affected,” he said.

Also, trees help regulate rain and store carbon, and if they are cut “this can have a serious implication on the climate of the area,” he said.

He urged South Sudan to put commercial cutting of forests on hold until regulations can be strictly enforced.
…

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Sprawling teak forests, planted nearly a century ago to supply lumber and government income, are fast disappearing in South Sudan as timber companies take advantage of the country’s chaos to extract large amounts of wood, environmentalists say.

The rapid felling threatens worsening erosion and environmental damage in the country, and has provoked uprisings by local communities, who have not received promised roads and other assistance as part of timber extraction deals, they say.

“There is a concern by the way the teak is cut in South Sudan and this will have some serious negative impacts on the people and the environment,” warned Bio Kuer, executive director of the Juba-based Nile Initiative for Health and Environment.

Timber harvesting “has to be lawfully (managed) by a competent authority – which is the government of South Sudan – and not by cartels like what we are seeing now,” the scientist said.

British colonists planted thousands of hectares of teak plantations in southern Sudan in the 1940s, as an industrial source of timber.

That has given South Sudan today some of the largest stands of the valuable hardwood trees in Africa, though the extent of the forests remaining is not clearly documented.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimated in 2007 that the teak, if sustainably harvested, could generate up to $50 million a year in export revenue for South Sudan.

But teak exports currently bring the beleaguered nation only about $1 million to $2 million year, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Protests

The rapid felling of South Sudan’s teak forests, largely by foreign-owned firms, has drawn protests from residents living near the forests, who say they were promised benefits in exchange for the loss of the wood.

According to logging concession agreements signed between the government and timber firms, the inhabitants of areas where trees are commercially cut are supposed to receive job opportunities and social development projects.

But in Katire, a village in the Eastern region of South Sudan, community members say they have seen little benefit from large-scale cutting, despite repeated meetings with timber company officials.

“We told them to start with roads so that they can be able to transport the timber but they are just moving on the bad roads with a lot of potholes,” said Lodofiko Khamis, 74, one Katire-area resident.

“If these teak trees become extinct, then Katire will just remain an undeveloped jungle,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

In the area, about three to four hours drive from the capital Juba, roads are so poor that rains can leave rural families cut off from town for days or weeks, he said.

Katire has only one primary health care center to serve thousands of people, and it has too few medical personnel and drugs, Khamis said, forcing residents to sometimes trek for days to reach Torit, the nearest town, for better access to healthcare.

In 2016, a Ugandan teak company was stopped from working near Katire after failing to fulfill a promise to build a school and roads in the area, according to Timothy Thuol Onak, the director-general for forestry in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Katire residents accused the company of overworking and underpaying laborers, and growing resentment eventually led some angry residents to burn company machinery and demand the national government end the contract, Thuol said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The owner of the company at that time denied the charges of overwork and underpay, and said efforts to build infrastructure for the community had faced setbacks largely because of unrest in the country.

Other timber companies operating in South Sudan also have signed concession agreements promising local benefits, but those “have remained on paper” for the most part, Thuol said.

Near Katire, where foreign firms continue to fell trees under legal concessions, the only clear evidence of promised community development is a concrete foundation put in place for a promised new health center.

Government Withdrawal

Thuol said that when he graduated from the University of Juba and started working for what was then the government of Sudan in 1979, forestry was government run, with government workers cutting timber and profits going into national coffers.

But “what is happening now is not the government,” he said.

Local and foreign companies have taken over the production and export of timber in South Sudan, and their actions have raised concerns “about the new type of forestry management that was made after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” a 2005 deal that eventually led to South Sudan’s independence, the director-general said.

Many of the firms are not cutting the forests in a way that allows them to regrow, he said, raising an increasing risk that a once-renewable resource will vanish.

Under concession agreements, two government foresters are supposed to oversee the work of each private felling company – but that is not happening, Thuol said.

Meanwhile there a “tug of war” between the states and national governments over who should collect the revenue from forest harvesting.

Under concession deals, the national government should receive $150-$200 per cubic meter of wood cut, with an additional small sum going to county authorities.

A cubic meter of mature teak wood can be worth more than $1,000 on international markets, dealers say.

But “the states are saying they have been left with nothing and they need to get some money. So they have grabbed some of the plantations,” Thuol said.

Logging firms are also supposed to pay operating taxes and custom duties on timber exports, Thuol said – though teak dealers in Juba said wood is sometimes moved across borders without paying the fees.

Environmental experts say the relatively unmanaged and unsustainable harvesting could have serious environmental and climate change impacts.

“In areas where trees have been cut completely, you begin to see soil erosion taking place because when it rains the speed at which the water is running is no longer broken by anything,” said Kuer of the Nile Initiative.

“And when the soil is eroded, any farming activity in that area will be affected,” he said.

Also, trees help regulate rain and store carbon, and if they are cut “this can have a serious implication on the climate of the area,” he said.

He urged South Sudan to put commercial cutting of forests on hold until regulations can be strictly enforced.
…

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The United Nations on Tuesday took steps to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse within its ranks, naming an array of experts to a panel aimed at ending incidents of harassment that have plagued the global agency for years.

The panel will advise the U.N. secretary-general on ways to address gender-based harassment and abuse by U.N. staff and U.N.-related forces, according to a statement issued by the Office of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations has been trying to increase transparency and strengthen how it deals with such accusations over the past few years, particularly a string of sexual exploitation and abuse claims made against U.N. peacekeepers in Africa.

Last month, a report released by the U.N. said one-third of its staff and contractors had experienced sexual harassment in the past two years. The survey was completed by more than 30,000 people from the U.N. and its agencies and contractors.

The effort comes amid the wider #MeToo movement around the world against sexual harassment and assault.

In an editorial in Tuesday’s New York Daily News on the “maddeningly slow” pace of #MeToo at the U.N., former staff member Katrin Park wrote that the global agency has had an “anti-Me-Too culture” and been largely silent about sexual abuse.

“The diplomatic corps is an old boys’ club,” Park wrote, adding, “Transparency is not the U.N.’s strong suit.”

Prevention and accountability

The panel will help devise measures for prevention and accountability, part of a broader strategy the secretary-general laid out in 2017, his office said.

Attention to issues of sexual harassment at the U.N. helps shine a light on similar problems around the world, said Charlotte Bunch, a professor of women and gender studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey and former consultant at the U.N.

“Because we expect more of the U.N., because we think that it’s supposed to be for the moral good and human rights, there’s been more exposure of these problems. In that sense, it’s very useful to keep pushing the U.N.,” she told Reuters.

“Bureaucracies move very slowly,” she added. “They do have built-in systems of protecting their own.”

The panel members are experts in areas of LGBT+, women, children and human rights, human trafficking, international war crimes, and global law and trade.

Last year, the U.N. set up a 24-hour helpline for staff to report sexual harassment in the workplace and procedures to help process complaints.
…

your ad here

The United Nations on Tuesday took steps to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse within its ranks, naming an array of experts to a panel aimed at ending incidents of harassment that have plagued the global agency for years.

The panel will advise the U.N. secretary-general on ways to address gender-based harassment and abuse by U.N. staff and U.N.-related forces, according to a statement issued by the Office of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations has been trying to increase transparency and strengthen how it deals with such accusations over the past few years, particularly a string of sexual exploitation and abuse claims made against U.N. peacekeepers in Africa.

Last month, a report released by the U.N. said one-third of its staff and contractors had experienced sexual harassment in the past two years. The survey was completed by more than 30,000 people from the U.N. and its agencies and contractors.

The effort comes amid the wider #MeToo movement around the world against sexual harassment and assault.

In an editorial in Tuesday’s New York Daily News on the “maddeningly slow” pace of #MeToo at the U.N., former staff member Katrin Park wrote that the global agency has had an “anti-Me-Too culture” and been largely silent about sexual abuse.

“The diplomatic corps is an old boys’ club,” Park wrote, adding, “Transparency is not the U.N.’s strong suit.”

Prevention and accountability

The panel will help devise measures for prevention and accountability, part of a broader strategy the secretary-general laid out in 2017, his office said.

Attention to issues of sexual harassment at the U.N. helps shine a light on similar problems around the world, said Charlotte Bunch, a professor of women and gender studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey and former consultant at the U.N.

“Because we expect more of the U.N., because we think that it’s supposed to be for the moral good and human rights, there’s been more exposure of these problems. In that sense, it’s very useful to keep pushing the U.N.,” she told Reuters.

“Bureaucracies move very slowly,” she added. “They do have built-in systems of protecting their own.”

The panel members are experts in areas of LGBT+, women, children and human rights, human trafficking, international war crimes, and global law and trade.

Last year, the U.N. set up a 24-hour helpline for staff to report sexual harassment in the workplace and procedures to help process complaints.
…

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