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Children and stepchildren of the World Bank on civil rights

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Children and stepchildren of the World Bank on civil rights

The World Bank has suspended all new loans to Uganda because the law criminalizing homosexuality, approved in the country in late May, contradicts its values. It is a pity, however, that it does not apply the same rules with all the states with which it has relations (see Saudi Arabia) and that this leaves room for countries such as Russia to insinuate themselves. All the details

Following the law against homosexuality promulgated by the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, the United States has threatened to review the billion dollar aid to the country and now the World Bank has announced that it will stop funding precisely because of the law it “contradicts” the fundamental values ​​of the institution.

But Uganda is only one of 64 countries that have enacted laws criminalizing homosexuality and many of these still have relationships with it.

WHAT THE LAW AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY IN UGANDA PROVIDES

On May 29, Uganda passed a law providing for the prison or death penalty for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Draconian measures that make it one of the toughest rules in the world so much so that, according to what Ugandan activist Frank Mugisha told the New York Times , in recent months many LGBTQ+ people have left the country.

REACTIONS OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY

As The Africa Report writes, the European Parliament, warning that relations with Kampala were at risk, voted in April to condemn the law and asked the EU states to put pressure on Museveni not to implement the law.

Similarly, the White House had warned the government of possible economic repercussions if the legislation went into effect and public health experts have stressed that the aid cut could jeopardize progress made in the fight against HIV, among other things. /AIDS.

Already in 2014, an anti-gay law, also signed by Museveni but then cancelled, had caused cuts in foreign aid by Western nations. But regardless of the reactions outside the country, the president wrote in X that Uganda "will develop with or without loans".

ALL COUNTRIES THAT CRIMINALIZE HOMOSEXUALITY

Under pressure, the World Bank has also decided to play its part by announcing a stop in lending to Uganda, to which it had granted $5.4 billion at the end of 2022.

However, observes Quartz , Uganda is one of 64 countries that have laws criminalizing homosexuality, and more than half of these states provide a prison sentence of at least 10 years for those who engage in homosexual acts. In Nigeria and Brunei they are 21 and 30 respectively.

And at least 6 countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Brunei, Mauritania and Nigeria – include the capital punishment among the penalties for homosexuality. Furthermore, Iran, Brunei, Saudi Arabia and Yemen threaten to flogging people before executing them.

CHILDREN AND STEPSONS OF THE WORLD BANK

But, as the article points out, the World Bank's relations with many of these other countries continue: “The Bank describes Saudi Arabia, for example, as a 'key development partner', even though the kingdom has executed several people because they are homosexual. In 2019, Brunei enacted a law requiring people to be stoned for adultery and gay sex. Yet, the following year, in appointing a new national director for Brunei, the World Bank said it was ready to support the country in its development challenges and in improving trade regulations".

Uganda also called the World Bank's move "unjust and hypocritical". “There are many countries in the Middle East that do not tolerate homosexuals, rather they hang and execute them,” said Foreign Minister Okello Oryem, who added: “In the United States, many states have passed laws that are against or they restrict homosexual activities… so why blame Uganda?”.

A GLIMPSE FOR OTHER INFLUENCES

For the Financial Times , the World Bank's decision could lead other Western institutions and nations to follow suit, giving a significant blow to Uganda's finances, which depend to a large extent (according to data from the International Monetary Fund for 22% ) from development partner funding for infrastructure projects, social services and capital investment, and this could leave room for other countries such as Russia, China, Turkey and the Gulf states to vie for influence in Africa.

In fact, rights regarding sexuality are becoming one of the favorite themes of leaders like Vladimir Putin, who rides it to win consensus beyond national borders and exacerbate hatred towards Western countries. Not surprisingly, in his speech delivered in May on the occasion of Victory Day, he accused Western capitals of "destroying the traditional family values ​​that make a person a person" and of "dictating one's will to others".

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/figli-e-figliastri-della-banca-mondiale-sui-diritti-civili/ on Sun, 20 Aug 2023 06:05:44 +0000.