The European Union’s decision not to cut funding to Uganda over a harsh anti-LGBTQ law has been criticised by gay rights activists.
The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, in a statement on Wednesday, said suspending financial aid to Uganda over the law would affect innocent broader vulnerable populations.
“Disengagement by the EU would also create gaps which may be further filled by other players who do not share EU values,” she added.
In response to the EU’s stand in a statement on Friday, advocates for equality from the Convening for Equality (CFE) alliance claimed that the regional bloc’s stance did not guarantee that its funding would not be used to support violence and discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
One of the leaders of CFE, Clare Byarugaba, said, “The recent EU announcement misses a critical opportunity to take more strategic action to protect the fundamental principle of non-discrimination – something the EU and EU member states profess a deep commitment to.”
Another leader, Frank Mugisha, said he did not disagree that European disengagement from Uganda would be misguided, but said the EU had options for repurposing its financial support.
“An effective response is one that fine-tunes and reallocates EU assistance to Uganda in ways that ensure that those who spout hatred and catalyze violence and discrimination against LGBTIQ people – including Ugandan government officials – won’t benefit from EU taxpayers’ money,” Mugisha said.
A law prohibiting the LGBTQ community was passed by the Ugandan legislature in May. Several of the stringent regulations established in March were incorporated into the legislation which drew strong criticism from the international community, including the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and major corporations at the time.
Last month, multilateral lender, World Bank vowed to stop lending to Uganda over the country’s legal stance against the LGBTQ community.