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World Bank stops funding Uganda because of the anti-gay law
The World Bank on Tuesday, August 8th 2023 announced suspending any future funding for projects in Uganda, pointing out human rights violations from the recent legislation of the anti-homosexuality rule.
A statement from the Bank says further funding is being frozen until authorities in Uganda provide acceptable policy to safeguard minorities, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other groups commonly categorized as LGBTQ+.
“Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group’s values. We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a liveable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality,” the Bank said on Tuesday.
“This law undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world.”
In May, President Yoweri Museveni approved a law, the Anti-Homosexuality Act, providing penalties as high as a death sentence for “aggravated homosexuality.” It drew condemnations from rights groups and Western countries such as the US who threatened sanctions. The US is a key shareholder in the World Bank and has almost always produced its president.
The World Bank said it has been persisting in Kampala to reconsider the law.
A team from the Bank, it said, have been speaking with Ugandan officials on “additional measures that are necessary to ensure projects are implemented in alignment with our environmental and social standards.”
“Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in the projects we finance. These measures are currently under discussion with the authorities. No new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested.
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni Wednesday hit back at the World Bank, accusing it of coercion. Through his X account, Museveni said that Uganda doesn’t need pressure from anybody to know how to solve problems in its society.
“Ugandans will develop with or without loans. 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,” he said.
Same-sex relations had been illegal in Uganda, even before this law, under the old penal code.
However, critics charged the new law seals any possible protections for minorities who may now not be able to rent property as the new law promises punishments to those who conceal homosexuals.
UN Appeals Court Orders Release of Rwandan Genocide Suspect
UN appeal judges Monday ordered that Rwandan genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga be urgently considered for release and that the war crimes trial against him be indefinitely suspended.
The judges ruled that the UN war crimes tribunal made an “error of law” in June by deciding that Kabuga should be tried via an alternative simplified procedure despite his dementia.
Kabuga, now in his late 80s, is accused of spreading hatred through his radio station and motivating the killers who killed more than 800,000 people in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
He was arrested in Paris in 2020, after two decades on the run. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
The court acknowledged that the decision to release Kabuga will be disappointing for the victims and survivors of the genocide, but said that justice can only be served with full respect for the rights of the accused.
The judges ordered that a lower trial chamber work on releasing Kabuga as soon as possible.
Mnangagwa Warns of Suffering if Opposition Wins
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa Wednesday urged voters to re-elect him in the upcoming election, warning that they will be lost if they do not.
Mnangagwa, who is 80 years old, has been in power since 2018, when he took over after a military coup that ousted Robert Mugabe. He is facing a challenge from Nelson Chamisa, the 45-year-old leader of the opposition Citizen’s Coalition for Change (CCC).
In a speech to supporters on Wednesday, Mnangagwa said that Zimbabwe would be “lost” if it did not re-elect him. He also accused the opposition of being “clueless failures” and said that they would only lead the country to suffering.
Mnangagwa’s speech comes amid accusations of political crackdowns and intimidation against opposition politicians. There are also suspicions that the government is planning to rig the election.
Despite these challenges, Mnangagwa remains confident that he will win the election. He said that Zanu-PF, the party he leads, is the only party with the capacity to lead Zimbabwe.
The presidential election will be held on August 23. If no candidate wins a majority in the first round, a run-off will be held two weeks later.
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