Blinken urges visa restrictions over Uganda’s anti-gay law. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his administration would examine visa restrictions against Ugandan officials and others for human rights abuses following the enactment of one of the world’s strongest anti-gay laws.
Blinken ordered the State Department to update Uganda’s travel advice for Americans and businesses.
The sanctions follow President Joe Biden’s criticism of Ugandan law.
Biden said the U.S. may apply penalties and assess the law’s effects “on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda.”
On Monday, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the anti-LGBTQ legislation, which includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” prompting Western outcry and risking aid donor sanctions.
“This shameful act is the latest development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda,” Biden added.
He said he had ordered the White House National Security Council to assess how the bill might affect U.S. engagement with Uganda, including the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and other aid and investment.
Biden said the U.S. would evaluate Uganda’s eligibility under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which grants duty-free access to sub-Saharan African goods.
“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,” Biden said.
Like more than 30 African nations, Uganda banned same-sex interactions, but the new law goes further.
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