By Our Reporter
A Ugandan delegation led by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has championed the fight against any gay debate in The Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), which unites Parliamentarians from over 178 countries.
On Monday, the group rallied various delegates at the 139th Assembly of the IPU in Geneva, Switzerland to support the motion “which could allow the assembly to amend several issues in the committee report that had already been adopted by a smaller group of suspected gay supporters.”
According to the Daily Monitor, members of the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, thought they could introduce amendment to rules that could make it impossible for the general assembly to change or debate anything passed by the group, which in return attracted serious objection from mainly Arab and African members.
IPU President, Ms Gabriela Cuevas Barron was moved to propose that members lobby and campaign before voting on the question whether the assembly could change the work plan and agenda of standing committees.
When delegates voted, the Daily Monitor reported that 874 supported the motion, 671 opposed it while 120 abstained.
“We are very grateful to all IPU countries that have supported this initiative. We knew about these back door plans and I informed the Parliamentary Union of the Islamic Conference and we all agreed that we should block this item from being included on the agenda,” Mr Abdulatif Sebaggala, the Kawempe North MP was quoted as saying.
Busiki MP, Mr Paul Akamba who was part of the Ugandan delegation said article 1(2) of the IPU statute talks about defending and promoting only those rights that are accepted universally, “and issues of LGBT community as you can see, have been widely opposed,” he said.
“IPU should restrain from such useless debates,” Mr Akamba said.
Buhweju MP urged the delegates to always pass laws and vote on issues that would help people in their respective nations and to promote their cultures as well as “respecting God’s laws and the Constitution of the IPU Parliament.”
He said, “We shall continue fighting the LGBT issues at international level until people here appreciate that same sex is unhuman and anti-culture.”
Elsewhere, IPU Committee on Human Rights of MPs resolved to examine cases of 324 MPs from DRC, Mauritania, Venezuela, Cambodia, Maldives, Malaysia and Turkey and incl. confidential cases from Senegal, Uganda, Afghanistan, Philippines, Russia/USA, Palestine/Israel and Yemen.
At the assembly, the delegates also observed one minute’s silence for Namibian politician Theo-Ben Gurirab and former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, both of whom were lost this year.
Other Ugandan legislators at the assembly included; Ms Mourine Osoru (Woman MP Arua), Ms Rose Kabagyeni (Woman MP Kisoro) and Ms Esther Anyakun (Woman MP Nakapiripirit District.)
