US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken on Wednesday denounced the adoption of a law against homosexuality in Uganda, calling for it not to be implemented.
"
We strongly call on the government of Uganda to reconsider the implementation of this law
," said the US Secretary of State in a tweet, stressing that this law "challenges
the fundamental rights of all Ugandans
" and "
could affect the fight against AIDS
".
heavy sentences
Uganda's parliament voted on Tuesday evening a law providing for heavy penalties for people engaging in same-sex relations, in a country where homosexuality is already illegal.
The law must be submitted to President Yoweri Museveni, who can either enact it or veto it.
Uganda has strict anti-homosexuality legislation - a legacy of British colonial laws - but since its independence from the UK in 1962 there have been no prosecutions for consensual homosexual acts.