In the aftermath of the adoption of a strict rule barring same-sex relationships in Uganda, the World Bank has halted fresh financing to that nation.
The death penalty is applied for “aggravated homosexuality” and a 20-year prison sentence is imposed for “promoting” homosexuality under the anti-LGBT law that President Yoweri Museveni signed in May.
The law “fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group’s values,” the World Bank said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that its vision “includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality.”
According to the statement, “no new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors” until the effectiveness of fresh initiatives put out in the wake of the new legislation has been evaluated.
Uganda has criticized the action as being unfair and contradictory.
“There are many Middle East countries who do not tolerate homosexuals, they actually hang and execute homosexuals. In the US many states have passed laws that are either against or restrict activities of homosexuality… so why pick on Uganda?” Uganda’s state minister for foreign affairs Okello Oryem was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.
According to Reuters, the World Bank had given Uganda $5.4 billion ($4.2 billion) in development finance through the end of 2022, primarily for health and education projects.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the delivery of $120 million to Uganda in June but issued a warning about harsher funding limitations due to the anti-gay law.
In addition to the US, the World Bank has imposed penalties on Uganda because of its anti-homosexuality law.