Charles Chauvel Parliament has unanimously backed Labour MP Charles Chauvel’s motion condemning homophobic legislation in Uganda and Nigeria. Chauvel asked Parliament to “note with grave concern” both the recently retabled legislation in Uganda, that would increase the penalties for certain consensual sexual activity between two consenting adults in private, and the legislation, passed recently by Nigeria’s legislature but not yet signed into law, which would criminalise freedom of association and advocacy for same-sex couples and organisations. He also asked Parliament to agree to “state its hope and expectation that the New Zealand Government will urge other governments to uphold the rights of all people to their privacy and dignity in accordance with international law”. There were no dissensions. An earlier attempt to make the statement was vetoed by National because it claimed Chauvel hadn’t sought its support for the move beforehand, which Chauvel is adamant he had.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 14th February 2013 - 2:08pm