The World Bank has terminated all new loans meant for Uganda for financing public projects over the country’s anti-homosexual law.
Earlier this year, Uganda adopted a bill criminalizing same-sex conduct, which received wide criticism from the Western world.
In a statement on Tuesday, the development lender said, “Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group’s values,” adding that “no new public financing” would be presented to the bank’s board of directors for approval for the time being.
This economic sanction comes after pressure from human rights organizations and members of the US Congress to take stringent and stiffer measures against Kampala over the law, which is among the harshest of its kind in the world.
Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 contains provisions making “aggravated homosexuality” a capital offense and imposes penalties for consensual same-sex relations of up to life in prison.
“Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in the projects we finance,” the World Bank said Tuesday, adding that it was in discussion with the Ugandan authorities over the issue.
At the end of 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 was struck down.
Following the passage of the bill, the US State Department updated its travel advisory, telling citizens to “reconsider travel to Uganda due to crime, terrorism, and anti-LGBTQI+ legislation.”
