Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), an umbrella organisation of groups working to protect the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and intersexuals in that country, has won the Rafto Prize for human rights work.
In a country where homosexuality is considered to be a serious crime, SMUG, headed by Frank Mugisha, works to make fundamental human rights apply to everyone, and to eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
In Uganda, homosexuality is punishable with life imprisonment. In 2009, Country’s parliament introduced a bill under which the homosexual rape of a minor or the transmission of AIDS during homosexual relations could have been subject to the death penalty. The bill was hotly debated but it had to be put off owing to international pressure.
Citing the work done by SMUG, the Rafto jury said that the organization played an important role in opposing the proposed ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill’.
The coalition “has successfully used the legal system to fight harassment and violence from government and private actors,” the jury added.
While announcing the 2011 prize to SMUG, the Rafto Foundation said it hoped “the award will help afford them greater protection and inspiration to continue working in what is a vulnerable and difficult situation.
The annual Rafto award was established in 1986 in memory of Norwegian economic history professor Thorolf Rafto, a longtime human rights activist.
The prize carrying an award of $10,000 and a diploma, generally awarded to relatively unknown human rights defenders, will be presented on November 6 in the western Norwegian town of Bergen.
Past Rafto Prize laureates include Aung San Suu Kyi, Jose Ramos-Horta, Kim Dae-Jung and Shirin Ebadi that went on to win to Nobel Peace Prize.
