WASHINGTON – The US has issued a business advisory against Uganda, saying enterprises face potential risks following the enactment of an anti-LGBTQ law in May.
The advisory issued on Monday by the Departments of State, Labor, Health and Human Services, Commerce, and USAID said businesses, organizations, and individuals should be aware of potential financial and reputational risks resulting from endemic corruption and violence against human rights activists, media, health workers, members of minority groups, LGBTQI+ persons and political opponents.
“Uganda’s enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) on May 29, 2023, further increases restrictions on human rights, to include restrictions on freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly and exacerbates issues regarding the respect for leases and employment contracts,” the statement said.
“The 2023 Investment Climate Statement warns investors about risks related to endemic corruption and the lack of respect for human rights in Uganda. In addition, the 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Uganda provides additional detail regarding restrictions by the Government of Uganda on an independent legislature and the lack of commitment to fair trial guarantees, as well as elite capture of critical institutions, including the military and police,” the advisory says.
President Yoweri Museveni in May signed what the US, western countries and international human rights organisations termed one of world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, drawing their condemnation.
The law stipulates capital punishment for “serial offenders” against the law and transmission of a terminal illness such as HIV-AIDS through gay sex. It also decrees a 20-year sentence for “promoting” homosexuality.
Reacting to the law, US President joe Biden said its enactment was a tragic violation of universal human rights—one that is not worthy of the Ugandan people, and one that jeopardizes the prospects of critical economic growth for the entire country – and called for its immediate repeal.
Since the act was introduced, Biden said, reports of violence and discrimination targeting Ugandans who are or are perceived to be LGBTQI+ were on the rise.
“This shameful Act is the latest development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda. The dangers posed by this democratic backsliding are a threat to everyone residing in Uganda, including U.S. government personnel, the staff of our implementing partners, tourists, members of the business community, and others,” he said.
As a result, Biden directed the National Security Council to evaluate the implications of the law on all aspects of US engagement with Uganda, including “our ability to safely deliver services under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and other forms of assistance and investments”.
“My Administration will also incorporate the impacts of the law into our review of Uganda’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). And we are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption,” said.
However, President Museveni pushed back, saying he wouldn’t be moved to repeal it.
“The signing is finished, nobody will move us,” Museveni said during a meeting with legislators from the National Resistance Movement party.
“The problem is that, yes, you are disoriented. You have got a problem to yourself. Now, don’t try to recruit others. If you try to recruit people into a disorientation, then we go for you. We punish you.
“But secondly, if you violently grab some children and you rape them and so on and so forth, we kill you. And that one I totally support, and I will support,” he added.
Consequences followed soon after, with World Bank suspending funding to Uganda in August.
“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,” World Bank said in a statement.
Museveni criticised the decision and said Uganda would find alternative sources of credit, adding that the country was in fact trying to reduce borrowing. He said his government would not give in to pressure from foreign institutions.
“It is, therefore, unfortunate that the World Bank and other actors dare to want to coerce us into abandoning our faith, culture, principles and sovereignty, using money. They really underestimate all Africans,” he said.
