World Bank U-turn ends loan ban to Uganda over gay rights
The World Bank says it is lifting a ban on loans to Uganda that it had put in place two years ago when the country passed a draconian new law against LGBTQ people.
In 2023, Uganda voted in some of the world's harshest anti-homosexual legislation meaning that anybody engaging in certain same-sex acts can be sentenced to death.
Since then, hundreds of people have been evicted from their homes, subjected to violence or arrested because of their sexuality, according to Uganda's Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum.
But the World Bank says it is confident that new "mitigation measures" will allow it to roll out funding in such a way that does not harm or discriminate against LGBTQ people.
The BBC has asked the Ugandan government and the World Bank for further comment.
"The World Bank cannot deliver on its mission to end poverty and boost shared prosperity on a liveable planet unless all people can participate in, and benefit from, the projects we finance, " a spokesman told the AFP news agency on Thursday, adding that the organisation had "worked with the [Ugandan] government and other stakeholders in the country to introduce, implement and test" anti-discrimination measures.
New projects in "social protection, education, and forced displacement and refugees" have also been approved, an unnamed World Bank spokesperson told the Reuters news agency.
Analysts say the World Bank is one of Uganda's biggest sources of external financing, playing an important role in infrastructure development. Road upgrades and widened electricity access are among the projects the organisation is backing in the East African country.
But some economists criticise the funding model used by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in general, saying it perpetuates dependency and undermines sustainable growth in the world's poorest nations by tying them to restrictive loan conditions.
Uganda is among several African nations - including Ghana and Kenya - that in recent years have witnessed moves to curtail the rights of LGBTQ people.
News of Uganda's draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023 prompted international condemnation.
It cost the country somewhere between $470m and $1.7bn (£347m and £1.2bn) in the year that followed, mainly because of frozen financing, according to estimates by the UK-based charity Open for Business.
Uganda's government says its anti-gay law reflects the conservative values of its people, but its critics say the law is little more than a distraction from real issues such as high unemployment and ongoing attacks on the opposition.
"It's low-hanging fruit," Oryem Nyeko, a researcher working at Human Rights Watch in Uganda, told CBC at the time.
"It's being framed as something that's foreign and threatening to people's children."
Victims of beatings, evictions and worse say that Uganda's new law has emboldened people to attack them based on their perceived sexuality.
The fact that the law also stipulates a 20-year prison sentence for "promoting" homosexuality has also been seen as an attack on anybody who defends LGBTQ rights, but the government denies this.
Beaten and forced to flee for being LGBTQ
Veteran Ugandan politician charged with treason
Ghanaian MPs reintroduce controversial anti-LGBTQ bill
Will Kenya be the latest African country to pass anti-gay law?
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Focus on Africa
This Is Africa
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
20 minutes ago
- Fox News
South Sudan deportations have placed migrants, and ICE officials, in danger: new court filing
Nearly a dozen ICE officials and a group of migrants deported to South Sudan by the Trump administration are currently being housed in a converted shipping container and face grave dangers to their physical health, according to a new court filing. The filing, submitted by senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Mellisa Harper, cites a combination of blistering-high heat conditions, exposure to malaria and "imminent danger" of rocket attacks from terrorist groups in Yemen as threats to both the migrants and ICE officials. It comes after U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ordered the Trump administration to keep in U.S. custody a group of eight migrants who were deported to South Sudan without due process or the ability to challenge their removals to a third country. He ordered they remain in U.S. custody until each could be given a "reasonable fear interview," or a chance to explain to U.S. officials any fear of persecution or torture, should they be released. But the filing makes clear that the migrants, and ICE officials, face dangers in the meantime. According to Harper, ICE officials were not given anti-malaria medication prior to traveling to Djibouti – subjecting them to unknown levels of disease exposure in a war-torn region, where there has been an uptick in deadly clashes over resource scarcity, including cattle and access to potable water. The president of the country declared a state of emergency in certain parts of South Sudan just days ago. And even within the confines of the U.S. base, there are significant risks. According to ICE's submission, the migrants are being housed in a converted Conex shipping container at the U.S. military base in Djibouti, the only permanent military base the U.S. currently operates in Africa. Since their arrival, daily temperatures there have exceeded 100 degrees – searing conditions that they said make detention "of any length," especially longer term. Nearby burn pits used by Djibouti to burn off trash and human waste form a giant "smog cloud" that hangs over the base for much of the day, exposing the group to unknown hazardous materials burned off under breezeless, blistering hot skies. Some ICE officers have started to sleep in N-95 masks for additional protection, Harper noted. "Within 72 hours of landing in Djibouti, the officers and detainees began to feel ill," Harper noted, with symptoms such as coughing, difficulty breathing, and achy joints – though they lack the testing or medication necessary for treatment. Other, more imminent risks also remain. Upon arrival, ICE officials were notified by Defense Department officials of the "imminent danger" of rocket attacks from terrorist groups in Yemen, Harper noted, though ICE officers lack body armor or other gear appropriate in the case of an attack. The new filing could add pressure on the Trump administration to relocate the detainees and ICE officials in question. Murphy had stated in a previous order that migrants deported to South Sudan need not be held there, in a country where recent infighting and deadly conflict have displaced more than 150,000 people this year alone. He said then that the government had mischaracterized his order, "while at the same time manufacturing the very chaos they decry." His order requires the Trump administration to keep the six deported migrants in South Sudan under the custody of U.S. officials for a length of time needed to carry out the so-called "reasonable fear interviews," and make a determination over whether the migrants' concerns are adequate. "The court never said that defendants had to convert their foreign military base into an immigration facility," Murphy wrote in that order. "It only left that as an option, again, at defendants' request," he said then. It is unclear whether the government has plans to relocate the group.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Crypto exchange Gemini confidentially files for US IPO
(Reuters) -Crypto exchange Gemini said on Friday it had confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, as digital asset companies move to tap into renewed investor risk appetite amid improving market conditions. Several high-profile companies, including those in high-risk sectors such as crypto and financial technology, have launched successful listings in recent weeks, reflecting pent-up demand. Earlier this week, stablecoin issuer Circle went public in a blowout debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Analysts said Circle's successful debut could encourage more cryptocurrency firms to pursue public listings, adding that the trajectory is likely to embolden others eyeing stock market debuts. Gemini, which operates a trading platform enabling investors to buy, sell and store more than 70 crypto tokens, said it has not yet determined the size or proposed price range for its offering. The surge in cryptocurrency IPOs signals a potential turning point for the industry, suggesting growing confidence among digital asset firms in their ability to attract mainstream investors. This wave of public listings could bring increased transparency, regulatory scrutiny and capital to the sector, helping solidify crypto's place within traditional financial markets. However, analysts have cautioned that challenges remain as companies navigate volatile markets and evolving regulations. In May, Coinbase became the first U.S. crypto-focused company to join the S&P 500, a watershed moment for the industry that signaled rising mainstream acceptance of digital assets. As the sector matures financially and in regulatory matters, crypto firms are becoming more integrated into the traditional market landscape. This marks a sharp turnaround for an industry that spent more than a decade under intense regulatory scrutiny worldwide. After the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in 2022, many institutional investors retreated from the digital asset market. Prices later recovered, and the sector gained renewed momentum when U.S. President Donald Trump voiced support during his campaign, pledging to be a "crypto president."
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wagner to withdraw from Mali after 'completing mission'
The Wagner Group has announced it is withdrawing from Mali following what it called "the completion of its main mission" in the West African country. The Russian mercenary group has been operating there since 2021, working with the military to challenge Islamist militants. In a message on its Telegram channel, Wagner said it had "fought terrorism side-by-side with the people of Mali", killing "thousands of militants and their commanders, who terrorised civilians for years". The withdrawal announcement comes the same day as reports that Malian soldiers had pulled out from a major base in the centre of the country, after it came under a second deadly attack in less than a week. Mali has been grappling with a militant Islamist insurgency for more than a decade. Following accusations that the government had been failing to deal with this insecurity, the military seized power a few years ago. French troops, which were originally deployed to help the civilian government, left the country in 2022. By then, the junta in charge of Mali had already begun working with the Russian mercenaries to combat the insurgents. There has been a resurgence in jihadist attacks on military bases in the Sahel state in recent weeks. Last Sunday, an al-Qaeda linked group said it had carried out a major attack on the town of Boulikessi and the army base there. More than 30 soldiers were killed, according to sources quoted by the news agency Reuters. Then on Monday, the same group - Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) - said it targeted the military in the historic city of Timbuktu, with residents reporting hearing gunfire and explosions. Insurgents also attacked an army post in the village of Mahou in the southeastern Sikasso region, killing five. Locals told the news agency AFP that soldiers withdrew from the Boulkessi base on after a new assault on Thursday led to multiple deaths. A military source said the departure was "strategic" and "at the request of the hierarchy", the news agency reported. The increased assaults in the Sahel region have raised concerns about the efficacy of Wagner in the region. Although the paramilitary group has announced its exit from Mali, Russian forces will still play an active role in the country's security landscape. Fighters from Africa Corps - a rival Russian mercenary force intended to absorb Wagner's activities on the continent - will remain in Mali. Russia has an increasing military, political and economic influence in West and Central Africa. Friday's announcement did not state whether Wagner would be leaving the Central African Republic, where its African headquarters are located. Wagner in Africa: How the Russian mercenary group has rebranded Was Ukraine's role in big Wagner defeat an own goal in Africa? Why Wagner is winning hearts in the Central African Republic Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
