An influential US lawmaker on Tuesday proposed withholding
aid to Uganda after the African nation's president signed a
controversial new measure imposing life prison sentences for
homosexuals.
"I am deeply concerned by the decision of President
[Yoweri] Museveni of Uganda to sign into law the anti-homosexuality
bill," Senator Patrick Leahy, the most senior member of the chamber and
chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.
"Much
of US assistance to Uganda is for the people of Uganda, including those
in the Ugandan LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community
whose human rights are being so tragically violated," he added.
"But
we need to closely review all US assistance to Uganda, including
through the World Bank and other multilateral organisations."
Washington
is among Uganda's largest international donors. Congress has requested
$456.3m in aid to that country, mostly for health programmes, for 2014.
The
State Department has signalled it is looking at a range of options to
respond to the law, while White House spokesperson Jay Carney said "we
are undertaking a review of our relationship with Uganda in light of
this decision".
"Africa is a continent in peril"
Leahy
chairs the appropriations subcommittee on state department and foreign
operations, and he has several options at his disposal, including
inserting language in a 2015 aid bill that puts conditions on US
assistance to Uganda.
Some lawmakers argued against cutting off aid.
"Africa
is a continent in peril. The problems in Uganda with Aids, and, you
know, kids starving - do we deny economic aid to the developing world in
Africa, which could be an ally, over an issue like this?" asked
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
"I'm not so sure that's the right answer."
Fellow
Senate Republican James Inhofe, who has travelled to Africa dozens of
times and has strong connections to Uganda, said he was "offended" by
the anti-gay law but suggested blocking aid would be counterproductive.
"We
can all express ourselves on how we oppose" the new law, he told AFP.
"But if we start making that the predicate for what our policy is going
to be on all issues, I think that's probably the wrong way to do it."
Washington
has praised Uganda for successfully tackling HIV/Aids. The Kampala
government has prioritised abstinence and faith in addition to condom
use, and the UN recorded a plunge in Uganda's HIV prevalence, from 18.5%
in 1992 to 5% in 2000.
