The unintended effects of a globalized approach to human rights
When the UK declared it would make its foreign aid to Uganda conditional on its compliance with human rights norms, including abandoning its pending legislation on the further criminalization of homosexuality, many, especially in the West, thought this was a great advance in how we encourage the globalization of human rights.
But these conditions didn’t take into consideration the consequences for the local LGBT community on a day-to-day level.
As the audience heard during the panel ‘Violence and Trauma: When does global outrage improve or endanger the safety and security of local LGBT communities?’, in Uganda, following the UK declaration, a homosexual was attacked by neighbors who blamed him for the death of their daughter due to the lack of medicine in hospitals.
The key issues facing LGBT communities are not the same across the world.
In the West, there is currently a push for equal marriage - led by Human Rights Campaign in the US.
Yet in 76 countries, homosexuality remains illegal, thus in many places decriminalization is far more pressing than marriage rights.
Some Fellows also expressed concern that the vocal Western campaigns for marriage is distracting from other, perhaps more urgent campaigns for LGBT rights.
We might live in an increasingly global world, but a global approach, without taking account local contexts, may not be the answer.
