Uganda Condemns World Bank ‘Hypocrisy’ Over Funding Halt Due to Anti-Homosexuality Law
In a critical response on Wednesday, local authorities within Uganda criticized the World Bank and Western nations, accusing them of displaying ‘hypocrisy’. This came after the global financial institution decided to halt funding for projects in Uganda, attributing the decision to the country’s recently enacted anti-homosexuality law, which the World Bank perceived as contradictory to its principles.
Henry Okello Oryem, Uganda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, expressed his disapproval of the World Bank’s action. Oryem labeled the move by the global lender as an act of hypocrisy on their part.
Oryem went on to rebuke Western organizations, highlighting a perceived double standard. He alleged that these entities are swift to offer lessons in democracy to economically disadvantaged nations, yet paradoxically respond with punitive measures when these nations adopt policies that diverge from the preferences of Western powers and their affiliated institutions.
“Stop this hypocrisy,” he said. “The law was passed by Uganda Parliament, these are representatives of the people. That’s democracy.”
On August 8th, in an announcement, the Bank declared that additional financial support will be halted until Ugandan authorities establish sufficient measures to safeguard marginalized communities, which encompass individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and others falling under the LGBTO+ classification.
“Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group’s values. We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a liveable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality,” the Bank said on Tuesday.
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The World Bank’s choice follows their dispatch of an investigative team to Uganda, aiming to collaborate with government authorities and involved parties, to authenticate allegations of bias against individuals in the LGBTO+ community. This action was taken after the enactment of the disputed legislation in May.
The Bank’s choice to suspend financial support is rooted in the findings of the mission’s report. The report unveiled that individuals belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, including gay individuals, in Uganda, were still facing harassment, assaults, and prejudice in both public and private organizations because of their sexual orientation.
However, government officials from Uganda have released statements aimed at debunking claims of either actual or perceived bias against sexual minority communities.
As an example, shortly after the World Bank’s decision to halt new loans was made public, the Ministry of Health in Uganda released a statement to explain that the law against homosexuality doesn’t intend to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals when they require medical treatment.
“This is to reiterate that the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023 does not forbid any person from seeking medical services from a health facility or hospital. Furthermore, all services should be provided in a manner that ensures safety, privacy, and confidentiality to all clients that see health services in public and private health facilities,” wrote Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the Director General of Health Services, in a statement.
Dr. Mwebesa emphasized the concept that medical professionals must treat all individuals seeking healthcare equally and without prejudice, regardless of factors such as gender, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, or sexual orientation.
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But Ugandan human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo says all government agencies need to fall in line. “Uganda’s Ministry of health press statement is a statement of principle but the actions of other agencies of the state betray a different intention from these words about non-discrimination. “All Ugandans matter & deserve the protection of the law. Simply repeal the law & stop tying yourselves in knots,” he said on his Twitter (X) page.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health is a significant beneficiary of financial support and assistance from Western nations, primarily spearheaded by the United States. These Western powers have even issued a warning about potentially discontinuing aid, including the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative. This situation resulted in the suspension of talks between the Ugandan government officials and the PEPFAR program administrators regarding a forthcoming wave of aid.
PEPFAR allocates approximately $400 million each year to facilitate the availability of antiretroviral treatment for more than 1.3 million individuals out of a total of 1.5 million individuals who are affected by HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
Authorities acknowledge that the absence of funding from both PEPFAR and the World Bank will place significant strain on the nation’s finances as it seeks to support various crucial areas such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, energy, and security.
As per Mr. Okello Oryem’s perspective, the unequal treatment of nations by Western countries makes the aid reductions and lending restrictions specifically aimed at Uganda seem unjust, inequitable, and unnecessary.
“Since the passing of this law, we have not had an LGBT person here persecuted, but there are countries in the middle east that hang homosexuals. What are they not talking about in these countries? This contradiction shows injustice,” he said.
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Uganda’s strong inclination to make same-sex relationships illegal has caused conflicts with Western donors and supportive financial institutions such as the World Bank. In 2014, when Uganda passed a law that imposed harsher punishments for LGBTQ-related activities, the World Bank, as a response, initially halted a $90 million loan.
Formerly, Jim Yong Kim, the President of the World Bank at the time, cautioned that enacting laws that limit sexual rights could harm a country’s ability to compete. This is because such laws might dissuade multinational corporations from investing in or choosing those countries as their operational bases.
Regarding the potential movement of multinational companies out of Uganda, alongside the strain on diplomatic ties with Western nations, Mr. Okello Oryem expresses that Kampala will persist in discussions with donors to discover areas of agreement. “We will engage them, we will agree to disagree, but relations will never collapse,” he told The EastAfrican.
Uganda Condemns World Bank ‘Hypocrisy’ Over Funding Halt Due to Anti-Homosexuality Law
