2023-08-09 10:50:09
The World Bank announced Wednesday that it will not consider new loans to Uganda after the East African country passed an anti-homosexuality law earlier this year that has been condemned by human rights groups.
“No new public funding to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the effectiveness of the additional measures has been proven,” the agency said in a statement.
“Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion from the projects we finance. These measures are now under discussion with the authorities,” the institution added.
The anti-gay legislation, which includes the death penalty for some acts involving same-sex couples, was signed into law in May. It has wide support in the country and the Ugandan authorities have reacted defiantly to concerns that partners such as the World Bank could withhold resources because of the rule. Some officials have suggested that threats about the funds are inappropriate.
It was not initially possible to get comment from Ugandan financial authorities, who have been trying for months to secure more financing from the country’s main multilateral lender.
The World Bank statement indicated that despite its latest decision, it remains “committed to helping all Ugandans – without exception – escape poverty, access vital services and improve their lives.”
The United Nations Human Rights Office has called the Ugandan law “draconian and discriminatory”, describing it as “a recipe for systematic rights violations” of LGBTQ people.
Activists and some academics have challenged the law in court, but it is unclear when hearings will begin.
In late July, several members of the US Congress called on World Bank President Ajay Banga to “immediately postpone and suspend all current and future lending to Uganda” until the law is repealed.
Following the passage of the bill, the US State Department updated its travel advisory, telling citizens to “reconsider traveling to Uganda due to crime, terrorism, and anti-LGBTQI+ legislation.”
The United Nations human rights office in Uganda closed last weekend after the East African country decided not to renew an agreement allowing it to operate, according to the UN’s top human rights official.
The closure comes amid concerns over human rights violations including extrajudicial killings in Uganda and a new law mandating the death penalty for some homosexual acts. The office in Kampala officially suspended operations on Saturday, while the sub-offices in Gulu and Maroto closed at the end of June.
“I regret that our office in Uganda has to close after 18 years, during which we managed to work closely with civil society, people from various walks of life in Uganda, as well as interact with state institutions to promote and protect the human rights of Ugandans. ”, Volker Türk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement from Geneva.
The closure follows the government’s decision not to renew the host country agreement under which the office operated.
Türk expressed concern about the situation in Uganda ahead of the 2026 elections, given an “increased hostile environment” for human rights defenders, journalists and others, his office said. Most of the 54 non-governmental organizations that were “arbitrarily suspended” two years ago remain closed, he noted.
(With information from AFP and The Associated Press)
Keep reading:
#World #Bank #froze #loans #Uganda #approval #law #punishes #homosexuality