The World Bank has announced that it has effectively cut any new development financing to Uganda, over the recently passed Anti-Homosexuality law.
According to World Bank, the law contradicts its values and undermines the bank's inclusion efforts.
"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," World Bank said in a statement.
"This law undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world."
The World Bank said its goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in projects they finance.
It said immediately the law was enacted, they deployed a team to Uganda to review their portfolio in the context of the new legislation.
The review determined additional measures are necessary to ensure projects are implemented in alignment with the bank's environmental and social standards.
"These measures are currently under discussion with the authorities," World Bank said.
"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."
In May, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni signed into law the anti-homosexuality bill, which prescribes tougher penalties for ''aggravated homosexuality''.
The new law, one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world, makes homosexuality illegal with offenders set to face a 20-year jail sentence for promoting homosexuality.
The new law also stipulates that citizens are under an obligation to report homosexual activity only when a child is involved.
The US is among the countries that have threatened sanctions against the East African country for enacting the law.
