Serving as a US diplomat in sanctioned countries across Africa, from the Ivory Coast to Madagascar, I saw firsthand the challenges created by such punitive policies in response to human rights abuses and coups. In most instances in which they are applied, the measures fail to change a government’s calculus while driving the people further into poverty and creating even more opportunities for unscrupulous politicians to exploit them. US sanctions often do not have the desired effect, as we have seen in Russia, Venezuela and other African nations like Zimbabwe, and in many cases create more problems than they solve. Ugandan president signs one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ bills into law Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters/File “We need to send a clear message that the United States will not offer federal aid to countries found to be violating the rights of individuals based on sexual orientation.”īut while punishments may temporarily provide us with a sense of having appropriately met the moment, in the long run the conditions faced by LGBTQ Ugandans and others around the globe are unlikely to improve because of sanctions.īetter would be to expand our efforts at education and engagement as the only way to address such an abhorrent edict. George Santos (R-NY) has introduced legislation that would deny funds to countries that criminalize or discriminate based on sexual orientation. “June is pride month, and the best way to celebrate the history and achievements of gay rights is to stand up to countries actively oppressing the LGBTQ community,” Santos told the publication The Hill this week. On Monday, the State Department upgraded its travel advisory to add anti-LGBTQ legislation to its list of reasons urging Americans to reconsider traveling to the East African country. Many here in the United States have called on the Biden administration to quickly isolate and impose stiff sanctions on the government in Kampala and cut off aid to send a strong message of intolerance for these kinds of brutal moves, something US officials are threatening to do.
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