According to the BBC, the White House says Uganda could face economic “repercussions” if the contentious anti-gay bill just voted by the East African nation’s parliament becomes law.
The proposed bill criminalizes gay conduct in the country. Those who identify as LGBT could face life in jail if the bill is passed. The measure also calls for the death penalty for anybody found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality.” If President Yoweri Museveni signs the controversial bill, it would become law.
Speaking with journalists on Wednesday, National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, said, Washington would “have to take a look at whether or not there might be repercussions that we would have to take, perhaps in an economic way, should this law actually get passed and enacted.”
“So, we’ll have to take a look. No decisions,” Kirby added. “We’re watching this very, very closely. And hopefully, it won’t pass and we won’t have to do anything.”
The European Union also released a statement saying it was “deeply concerned by the passing of an anti-homosexuality bill by the Ugandan Parliament”, adding that it “is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances.”
“The criminalization of homosexuality is contrary to international human rights law,” the EU stated. “The European Union will continue engaging with the Ugandan authorities and civil society to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, are treated equally, with dignity and respect.”
According to CBS News, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, called the bill “discriminatory” in a statement on Wednesday. “The passage of this discriminatory bill, which is likely to be among the worst of its kind in the world,” Turk added, “is a highly worrying event.”
He further stated that if President Museveni signs the bill, “lesbian, homosexual, and bisexual people in Uganda will be criminalized just for existing, for being who they are.” “It might allow for the systematic violation of practically all of their human rights and help to instigate people against one another,” Turk warned.