World Bank Seeks LGBTQ Compromise to End Loan Freeze in Uganda
The World Bank is working with Uganda to try and end a freeze on lending that was imposed after the East African nation passed repressive anti-gay legislation, sparking concern among civil rights groups that leniency will set a global precedent.
The Washington-based lender halted new loans to Uganda in August 2023 after it adopted a new law that punishes those who engage in same-sex relations with lengthy jail sentences or even death in some instances.
A package of measures are now being rolled out by the World Bank and the Ugandan government that seek to ensure members of the LGBTQ community can benefit equally from projects funded by the lender — a required step for financing to resume.
“We will not propose any new public financing for Uganda to our board until we are satisfied that additional mitigation measures are in place,” a World Bank spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions. “These mitigation measures have been designed to ensure beneficiaries of bank-financed projects are not discriminated against and receive equal access to services.”
Uganda is the only country to have ever faced such a World Bank backlash for passing anti-LGBTQ legislation, making it a bellwether for how the lender enforces its non-discrimination standards.
Countries that borrow from the bank must commit to respecting “environmental and social standards” that protect people from harm and exclusion in projects it finances.
Where there is a risk of these standards not being met, mitigation measures must be put in place to prove that the authorities are still able to implement the projects in a way that isn’t discriminatory or harmful. Anti-LGBTQ laws elevate that risk, according to the lender’s anti-discrimination guidelines.
“We are concerned that the World Bank’s mitigation measures are gravely flawed both in structure and substance,” more than 100 civil society groups said in an open letter sent to World Bank President Ajay Banga that was dated Sept. 16.
The flaws included a lack of clarity over how the effectiveness of the mitigation measures would be measured, and fears that implementation was left to the Ugandan government, which approved the discriminatory law in the first place, they said.
The World Bank said it is working with Uganda to implement the mitigation measures, without specifying what they were, and that a date has yet to be set to assess their effectiveness.
The decision to restore funding lies with the World Bank, said Ramathan Ggoobi, the permanent secretary of Uganda’s finance ministry.
The “enhanced measures will guarantee that there is no exclusion of any group,” he said.
