Good evening, everyone.
My name is Bibe Kalalu and I am the President of the Angels Refugee Support Group Association, an organization created in Uganda in 2009 in response to the discrimination and persecution of LGBT nationals in Uganda, as well as LGBT persons from the African Great Lakes countries and East Africa.
I am a Congolese refugee and a member of the LGBT community in Uganda.
I want to tell you why LGBT refugees in Uganda suffer a great deal because of their gender identity and the kind of problems this leads to.
First of all, Uganda is an extremely homophobic country where LGBT persons are constantly under tension or subject to prosecution.
In the next seven minutes, I will address four points.
First, there is a lot of discrimination against LGBT persons in the health sector. In Uganda, health services for LGBT persons are very poor, and no hospitals will treat LGBT refugees.
Second, for safety reasons, the refugee community in Uganda does not work with LGBT refugees.
Third, LGBT persons cannot find work and do not receive any assistance.
Fourth, Uganda refuses to grant refugee status to LGBT refugees living in the country and denies their refugee claims. This affects us a great deal.
I will now turn it over to my colleague and will resume my presentation thereafter.