US makes first aid cuts to Uganda over anti-gay law
PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN US President Barack Obama speaks on the situation in Ukraine on the South Lawn of the White House on March 20, 2014. The Obama administration is taking its first steps to punish Uganda for enacting a law targeting homosexuals, the State Department announced on Monday.
What you need to know:
- The Obama administration had earlier announced an increase in military aid to Uganda in order to intensify the hunt for Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.
The Obama administration is taking its first steps to punish Uganda for enacting a law targeting homosexuals, the State Department announced on Monday.
The actions are seen as moderate, in that some of them involve redirection of funding rather than actual reductions in aid. That cautious response reflects the US desire to maintain strong strategic ties with Uganda.
Most striking among the initiatives outlined by a State Department spokeswoman is the US decision to suspend the start of an HIV/Aids survey.
Because it would estimate the size of key at-risk populations, “proceeding with it could pose a danger to respondents and to the staff,” spokeswoman Marie Harf said. Her comment implies that the survey could reveal the identities of gay men.
The US is also shifting Sh550mn ($6.4 million) in funds previously given to the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, which Ms Harf identified as one of the groups “whose actions don't reflect our values.”
The council had lobbied in support of the Anti-Homosexuality Law. The Sh550mn ($6.4 million) will be given to other nongovernmental organisations in Uganda.
About Sh258mn ($3 million) in US funding for tourism promotion in Uganda is being redirected, Ms Harf said.
And in a symbolically significant move, the Pentagon-sponsored Africa Air Chief Symposium and East Africa military intelligence course for non-commissioned officers is being relocated from Uganda to an unspecified locations, Ms Harf added.
She prefaced her comments on aid cuts by telling reporters at a State Department briefing that “ensuring justice and accountability for human rights violations like the LRA and protecting LGBT rights aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, we have to do both.”
The Obama administration had earlier announced an increase in military aid to Uganda in order to intensify the hunt for Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.
The US is sending 150 more military advisors and at least four military aircraft to expand an anti-LRA operation being carried out by Ugandan troops with assistance from other countries.
The actions announced Monday may be followed by other steps to demonstrate US disapproval of what it regards as Uganda's violation of the rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and trans-gendered individuals. “We're looking at further steps,” Ms Harf said.
