Following is the latest in several UNHCR updates regarding the condition of two LGBTQI refugees in Kakuma Camp, Kenya, who were burned in a fire where arson, under investigation, is suspected: “Update on the situation of the two persons who suffered burn injuries in the 15 March 2021 fire in Kakuma: As notified in our … More UNHCR Updates on Injured LGBTQI Refugees from Kakuma Fire
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of renowned Kenyan human rights and LGBTQI activist, Sheila Kawira Mwirichia, who was found dead in her house in Lavington. She had been reported missing a few weeks ago. Police assert they are investigating the case. It is reported in NATION Africa: Police said the caretaker … More LGBTQI Activist Found Dead in Kenya
UNHCR is deeply concerned by a number of messages we have received in recent days from individuals outside of Kenya indicating that they have been the recipients of information concerning a small group of refugees and asylum seekers in Kakuma camp who have self-identified as LGBTI and have expressed feelings of trauma and, in some … More UNHCR Statement on Psychosocial Services Includes LGBTI Refugees in Kakuma, Kenya
African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC), hand in hand with refugees at Kakuma Camp in Kenya, had the great honor to represent African countries and refugees leading the Main Stage opening, at GLOBAL PRIDE 2020 with its VIDEO message. Worldwide, we were all so disappointed when we realized we could not take to our streets this … More THANK YOU GLOBAL PRIDE 2020 FOR THE HONOR FROM KAKUMA
LGBTQ DIGITAL PRIDE AND MIGRATION 2020 will commemorate the struggles of displaced people and LGBTQ Refugees and is scheduled this year for World Refugee Day, which is celebrated annually on June 20th. World Refugee Day commemorates the struggles of millions of displaced people. The significant population of displaced people who identify as LGBTQI underscores the importance of celebrating … More LGBTQI Pride on World Refugee Day
We are posting this because we care about the integrity of the refugee program for LGBTQI refugees in Kenya. And also because we want to mitigate cyber-bullying and the danger it brings for all. TO ACCES THIS FULL ARTICLE PLEASE CLICK HERE The screenshots below are examples of what could be construed, in each instance … More STOP REFUGEE BULLYING: Slander, Vilification, Lies, Hate Inciting Violence on Social Media Crimes in Kenya
African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC) is pleased to partner with our friends at ALIGHT for the ongoing OUR KITCHEN TABLE initiative. Together with the LGBTI community in Kenya, we are collaborating through this programming in our joint quest to mitigate the hardships that the COVID-19 Pandemic is bringing to LGBTI refugees in Kenya, to support safe shelter, food and hygiene needs … More Fun-Filled Event at the Heart of Alight, AHRC and Refugee LGBTI Community Alliance in COVID-19 Response
And calls on the international community to continue its valuable support to refugees, asylum-seekers and host communities during this unprecedented situation. As the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic continues, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, notes the increasing challenges faced by refugees, asylum-seekers and other vulnerable populations, and calls for continued solidarity. UNHCR appreciates the … More UNHCR Response to COVID-19 urging International Community support for refugees
African Human Rights Coalition: We are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic passing today of Ugandan national, and refugee Aneste Mweru, age 27. We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to all of those who knew and loved Aneste. May he rest in peace and his memory be a blessing. UNHCR has advised that the Kenyan police … More Responding to Tragic Death of Ugandan LGBTI Refugee
ALL Out, African Human Rights Coalition and RefCEA Partner for COVID-19 Pandemic – DONATE HERE. My name is Geofrey and I’m one of the many LGBT+ refugees living in Kenya’s Kakuma camp, the largest refugee settlement in the world. I’m here because I had to flee my home country, Uganda. I would have been severely … More Emergency Funds Sought by ALLOUT African HRC for RefCEA and Kakuma LGBTI Refugees
Among the most predictably vulnerable during the Corona Virus pandemic is clearly the world’s refugee and migration population and the most vulnerable of all refugees are LGBTQI refugees, worldwide. Over 70 countries criminalize LGBTI people for their sexuality and gender identity. Many have compromised immune systems, major trauma, and underlying medical conditions, all an added … More LGBTI and All Refugees in grave danger during COVID-19 Pandemic
CAUTION: Please refrain from portraying certain situations inaccurately. We would advise you to be cautious and to verify information and facts prior to circulating unconfirmed COVID-19-related information further. This can cause an enormous amount of harm to everyone. Be sure of your facts before you post them on Social Media. We caution anyone spreading any information to sure off the … More UNHCR and African HRC COVID-19 Corona Virus Advisories for Refugees in Kenya
The Refugee Coalition of East Africa,(RefCEA) a strong body of refugees representing LGBTQI refuges in Kenya, is proving how dialogue and compromise can lead to solutions, through a series of meetings in Kenya. These meetings are undoubtedly serving the best interests of the tenuous LGBTQI refugee program’s ability to survive its stress and tests in … More LGBTI Refugees in Kenya Dialogue for Financial Solutions
RefCEA Responds to Cessation of Funding with a call for a Community Planning Session: First Reported at AFRICAN HRC HERE. Tuesday 10 March 2020, NAIROBI, KENYA – In recent weeks, HIAS (the Refugee Trust of Kenya) announced the cessation of funding for urban refugees located in greater Nairobi. These LGBTQI refugees were transplanted from the … More LGBTQI Refugee Coalition in Kenya Calls for Dialogue Not Protest
From African Human Rights Coalition HERE: A WARNING Regarding Refugee Protests 2020-03-06 | AFrican HRC, Volunteer Staff WARNING: WE ARE URGING LGBTI REFUGEES IN KENYA TO READ OUR ADVISORY BELOW AND CONSIDER REFRAINING FROM PROTESTS ANYWHERE IN KENYA AT THIS TIME WE ARE URGING POTENTIAL FUNDERS OF PROTESTS TO NOTE THIS ADVISORY To ALL refugees in Kenya: … More Protesting In Kenya Dangerous for LGBTI Refugees
With a Focus on Kenya In a recent advisory written for African Human Rights Coalition it is noted that leadership has a heightened responsibility when staging protests, especially under circumstances that have wide far reaching impacts on entire LGBTQI refugee resettlement and protection programs. There has been widespread appreciation by those impacted, who have expressed … More Funding of Protests: Responsible Donors and Funders Context Africa LGBTQI
As Executive Director for African Human Rights Coalition, and as a follow up to the articles that have appeared on this BLOG reporting on the complex and disturbing situation involving LGBTQI refugees in Kenya, and more specifically Kakuma Camp, African HRC has issued 2 advisories on its website. Here is a snippet plus links to … More African HRC Issues Advisory to LGBTQI Refugees, Activists and Advocates
In the words of an LGBTQI refugee – from the streets of Kenya… with more to come …. In the dark, I sit where the site of distress is bliss, my thoughts are cadacomn cliffs and I teeter Voices of responsibility ring out bleakly, my eyes can’t close up My brain won’t free me It’s … More 2020 Overwhelmed by LGBTQI Migrant Crisis
Catching up on the world. There is a lot going on – and here is a start: The Queer Displacements: Sexuality, Migration and Exile 2019 conference (Queer Displacements) was organised by two queer refugee women, emerging academics and activists Renee Dixson and Tina Dixson. Queer Displacements took place on the Traditional lands of the Ngunnawal … More Queer Displacements Conference: Refugees and Ongoing Hardship in Australia
The Refugee Protection Act (RPA) of 2019, led by Senator Patrick Leahy and Representative Zoe Lofgren and cosponsored by more than two dozen members of Congress seeks to restore justice to the U.S. asylum and refugee resettlement systems and revive our country’s founding commitment to offer safe haven for those fleeing persecution. Congress must support … More Urging Congress to Support the Refugee Protection Act of 2019
In Climate of Escalating Antagonism by Kenyan Authorities toward LGBTI refugees Following the recent endorsement by Kenya’s High Court where it refused to decriminalize Penal Codes criminalizing homosexuality, it is not surprising that President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya has yet again demonized Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) community by declaring homosexuality as unacceptable to Kenyan … More Kenyan President Demonizes Gays Again
We have received a report from Uganda that another member of the LGBTI community has been brutally beaten with a threat “we will kill you all.” The number of beatings and murders of gay people in Uganda has been on the rise since recent hateful rhetoric delivered by Ugandan Government officials, including the threat to … More Under Threat of WE WILL KILL YOU ALL Another LGBTI Person Beaten in Uganda
7 MASKS 1 STORY – This is MASK 02 out of 7 MASK stories which will be told each day this week: If you care you will share! For the past ten years I have been working with LGBTQ individuals and communities in several African Countries in the global attempt to thwart homophobia and deal with … More MASK 02: Desperation for Sick LGBTQI Refugee
A Critical frontier for Human Rights Advocacy – Melanie Nathan (2019) – the subject of 2 Articles in global press- Harpers and Mamba-Online – elucidating a critical mess for LGBTQI refugees! This week two articles have been written by accomplished journalists at two different corners of the world, reflecting on the stories of refugees attempting to avail … More Hostile Host Countries further the persecution of LGBTI Refugees in Africa
The much anticipated ruling in the case challenging the Kenyan anti-Homosexuality Clauses of the Penal Code which criminalizes homosexuality has been postponed. Eric Gitari v Attorney General & another (Petition no. 150 of 2016), brought by the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) challenges Sections 162 a) c) 163, 165, of the Kenyan Penal … More Kenyan Court Postpones much anticipated ruling on Criminalization of Homosexuality
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African HRC and other advocates have been requesting UNHCR plan for the safe protection and humane living conditions for LGBTQ refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp for several years, with only slight ad hoc and ultimately ineffective results. The harsh conditions and insecurities led to a protest this week and an attack by Kenyan police on … More UNHCR Calls out the Violent Kenyan Police Attack on LGBT Refugees
Kenya is a hostile host to LGBTI refugees:– Thirty LGBTI Refugees in Kakuma Camp, Kenya, mostly Ugandans participating in an approved peaceful demonstration, tried to deliver a document to UNHCR, but after being refused entry into the compound were viciously attacked by police. I have reached out to UNHCR for comment and will update accordingly. The conditions … More LGBT Refugee Peaceful Protest Turns Violent at UNHCR Compound in Kenya
Call Outs on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights SOUTH AFRICA: On this the day we celebrate the 70th year of the #UDHR South Africa should take a hard look at its deplorable treatment of African asylum seekers and #refugees from Northern countries. People, including mothers with babies on their backs, are … More 70th UDHR Anniversary and Deplorable Treatment of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Africa
The Botswana High Court has announced that it will finally hear a case on the decriminalization of homosexuality next year: According to our friends at Mamba Online, the full bench of the court ordered that a hearing challenging the constitutionality of sections 164(a), 164(c) and 167 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes same-sex sexual activities … More Botswana Africa’s Next Hope for Decriminalization of Homosexuality
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