 |
| A man protests Uganda's anti-gay bill in New York City. |
Several international donors
threatened and a few have confirmed they will cut aid to Uganda after the
government passed a controversial law targeting homosexuals. But there is now a
clear opportunity for the donor community to invest in protecting the human
rights and health of the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex community.
But first — and in order to send a
strong message — Ugandan and international LGBTI allies will need support to
fight this bill in court; and donors such as the U.S. Agency for International
Development can increase rule of law funding on an emergency basis
to help support this effort, according to Chloe Schwenke, vice president of
global programs for Freedom House
and former USAID senior advisor for LGBTI global policy.
Seasoned LGBTI activists in the
country contacted Freedom House to express their fear and the profound threat
they are currently facing, she said — but it’s not too late to fight the
legislation in constitutional court, as it contravenes Uganda’s constitution.
“There are plenty of lawyers in Uganda
who are LGBTI supporters who could step in and do this with the right funding,”
Schwenke said.
The call for further action isn’t
limited to Freedom House, as many aid groups and NGOs around the world are also
joining the campaign.
“The international community must
collectively denounce this law, and there must be serious consequences for the
government of Uganda,” Santiago Canton, director of the Robert F. Kennedy
Center for Justice & Human Rights Partners for Human Rights, said in a
statement.
Donors appalled
International donors are already
reviewing their aid policies toward the country, with some of them hinting at
reallocating the money to civil society organizations in response to the law
signed by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday, which strengthens
existing penalties for homosexual acts — already illegal in Uganda — with up to
life in prison for a repeat offender.
Following Norway’s aid cut and
redirection announcement, both the
Netherlands and Denmark are reported to be considering slashing
their aid package to Uganda, saying they would also redirect the nearly $20
million of aid currently earmarked for Ugandan state programs instead to
activities in the private sector and with civil society organizations.
Sweden will consider redirecting its
$10.7 million in aid to Uganda to other programs or countries when it completes
an evaluation this spring, while members of the European Parliament called for
an end to a political agreement with Uganda over the law — which EU High
Representative Catherine Ashton described as “draconian.”
The United States and Canada, two of
Uganda’s largest bilateral donors, are also reviewing their relationship with
the anti-gay Ugandan government over the new law that makes it a criminal
offense to sponsor or encourage homosexuality, and even criminalizes failure to
report homosexual practices.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
urged it be repealed and said in a statement on Monday that Washington is
“deeply concerned about the law’s potential to set back public health efforts
in Uganda, including those to address HIV/AIDS, which must be conducted in a
non-discriminatory manner in order to be effective.”
HIV aid now illegal?
As far as the legislation’s potential
impact in on health initiatives, UNAIDS pointed
to the example of a “drop-in center” — a discreet office in an urban
neighborhood where gay men can go for counseling, HIV testing and medical care,
that may now be considered illegal under the new law.
But this is another way donors can
positively support the Ugandan LGBTI community at this time, Schwenke suggested.
Health budgets are a massive part of foreign assistance, though many health
programs routinely exclude LGBTI from receiving funds.
On Friday, the World Bank
will vote to approve $90 million in funding for the Ugandan health sector, she
noted, which could also be an opportunity to send a clear message.
“This is crucial funding for maternal
health and family planning, so the bank could put a conditionality on this
financial aid that ‘you must be able to demonstrate inclusion of sexual
minorities,’” Schwenke said.
Not just Uganda
The debate over whether donors should
or shouldn’t cut aid to countries with homophobic policies was most recently
raised once again when President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria signed in January
a law that criminalizes same-sex unions and other homosexual activities.
And this isn’t the first time the aid
community has taken a strong stance against the adoption of harsh anti-gay law.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, for
example, has in the past threatened to withhold aid from governments that
refuse to reform legislation banning homosexuality, and temporarily suspended
aid to Malawi in 2011 over concerns about its attitude toward gay rights.
So what would happen if the United
States decides to adopt targeted sanctions, such as visa refusals for specific
officials who promote hate and violence against homosexuals?
No comments:
Post a Comment