The World Bank announced it has suspended its lending programs for Uganda in response to the East African country’s passage of a harsh new anti-LGBTQ law in May.
No new public financing proposals would be considered pending the outcome of negotiations with Ugandan authorities on implementing additional measures to ensure World Bank-funded projects do not discriminate against or exclude sexual or gender minorities, the Washington D.C.,-based bank said in a news release Tuesday.
The bank also said it would “significantly increase” third-party monitoring and grievance redress mechanisms allowing it “to take corrective action as necessary.”
“Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group’s values. We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality,” the bank said. “This law undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world.”
The decision follows a three-month in-country review of the bank’s Uganda portfolio in light of the new legislation signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni that punishes “gay sexual conduct” with life sentences and aggravated offenses with the death penalty, drawing the condemnation of the international community.
The anti-gay legislation, which prescribes the death penalty for some homosexual acts, was signed into law in May. It has widespread support at home, and Ugandan officials have been defiant amid concern that partners such as the World Bank and others might withdraw resources over the legislation. Some officials have suggested that the funding threats are inappropriate.
It was not immediately possible to get a comment from Ugandan finance authorities, who for months have been trying to secure new funding from the country’s top multilateral lender.
The World Bank statement noted that despite the latest decision it remains “committed to helping all Ugandans — without exception — escape poverty, access vital services, and improve their lives.”
The World Bank’s decision came days after the United Nations’ human rights watchdog was forced out of the country after 18 years.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights closed its last remaining office in the country in the capital, Kampala, on Saturday after the government decided not to renew its Host Country Agreement with the watchdog.
The OHCHR has also been highly critical of what it called the “deeply discriminatory and harmful anti-homosexuality” law which it said was already having a negative impact on Ugandans, as well as a crackdown on civil society and backtracking on international human rights treaties Uganda has ratified.
The U.N. Human Rights Office has said the Ugandan law is “draconian and discriminatory,” describing it as ”a recipe for systematic violations of the rights” of LGBTQ+ people and others. The U.S. has warned of economic consequences.
Activists and some academics have challenged the law in court, but it remains unclear when hearings will begin.
Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries.
