After the implementation of one of the most anti-gay laws in the world, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday that his country will take into account imposing visa restrictions on Ugandan authorities and others for violating human rights.
According to Blinken, he has given the State Department instructions to revise the advice given to US residents and corporations regarding travel to Uganda.
The actions come after US Vice President Joe Biden denounced the Ugandan legislation.
According to Biden, the US may apply penalties and would assess how the law will affect “all aspects of US engagement with Uganda.”
The anti-LGBTQ legislation that include the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” were approved by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday, bringing criticism from the West and increasing the possibility of assistance donors imposing sanctions.
Biden said in a statement:
He said that in order to ensure the safe delivery of services under the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and other forms of aid and investment, he had instructed the White House National Security Council to assess the effects of the bill on all facets of US engagement with Uganda.
In reviewing Uganda’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which grants duty-free access to commodities from certain sub-Saharan African nations, Biden stated that the US government would take the impact of the law into account.
“And we are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption,” said Biden.
In Uganda and more than 30 other African nations, same-sex relationships were already prohibited, but the new law goes even further.
