( CNN ) -- It is a tragic irony that two countries in Africa -- Nigeria and Uganda -- that for many years experienced the subjugation of colonial rule have recently enshrined into law discriminatory practices that dehumanize their own citizens . In Uganda , a draconian bill recently signed by President Yoweri Museveni makes it a crime to be gay . Any person convicted of `` the offense of homosexuality '' faces life imprisonment . Anyone found guilty of `` funding or sponsoring homosexuality or other related activities '' will be sentenced to a seven-year jail term . Apart from being a flagrant abuse of human rights , the new law will severely impede the efforts of any organization conducting HIV prevention and outreach programs serving gay men in Uganda . Gay men , other men who have sex with men , and transgender individuals are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS -- in Uganda and the world over . Driving a community that is already stigmatized further into the shadows will seriously undermine progress on the global epidemic , progress that depends on reaching the most vulnerable populations . Opprobrium from the U.S. and other nations is greeted by Uganda 's leaders with a familiar refrain : Stop trying to impose your values on us . But the United States is as entitled as any nation to espouse a set of values , and if those values enshrine the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect , then we should make every effort to export them . The struggle against HIV/AIDS , now in its fourth decade , has always also been a human rights issue . In the early days of AIDS in the United States , when confusion , ignorance and hysteria reigned , there were those who called for people with HIV to be quarantined or tattooed . Until recently , HIV-positive people were barred from entering the United States . Fighting for its life in the early 1980s , the gay community rose up and the struggle for gay rights became the civil rights struggle of the tail end of the 20th century . It is far from over , but with the repeal of `` do n't ask , do n't tell , '' which sanctioned anti-gay discrimination in the military , and victories on same-sex marriage in 17 U.S. states and the District of Columbia , we have made substantial progress . U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has called gay rights one of `` the defining civil rights challenges of our time . '' Responding to the passage of the anti-homosexuality law in Uganda , President Barack Obama said it would `` complicate '' the United States ' relationship with Uganda . Instead , the passage of this blatantly discriminatory piece of legislation should fundamentally alter our relationship with Uganda , a country that receives close to $ 500 million annually from the U.S. in foreign assistance , largely for HIV/AIDS programs . To make its position abundantly clear , the U.S. should redirect its assistance for HIV/AIDS and other health and development concerns toward nongovernmental and civil society organizations working in Uganda . Indeed , if protecting the human rights of gay people is in fact a priority of U.S. foreign policy , then we should re-examine our relationship with all countries receiving foreign aid and restructure our relations with those that criminalize homosexuality . As Archbishop Desmond Tutu rightly declared in condemning the Ugandan anti-homosexuality law : `` There is no scientific justification for prejudice and discrimination , ever . And nor is there any moral justification . '' What does exist , however , is the very real possibility that this cancerous bigotry will spread to other countries wishing to scapegoat an easily targeted minority . If they have an ounce of humanity , the governments of Uganda and Nigeria will repeal these odious laws without delay . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Harry Belafonte and Mathilde Krim .
Harry Belafonte , Mathilde Krim : Uganda passed law that makes it a crime to be gay . They say this drives HIV/AIDS vulnerable population into shadows ; undermines AIDS fight . Comment: Writers : U.S. , show world this is priority ; redirect funds away from government to aid groups .