Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

President Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which the Ugandan Parliament passed earlier this year, into law. Shortly afterwards, a group of Ugandan citizens launched a constitutional challenge to the legislation. The Ugandan Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law has issued guidelines on the international response cautioning against linking cuts in ODA to the enactment of the Bill for fear of any backlash against the LGBTI community and the potential impact on the poorest Ugandans.

That is the situation now, but prior to the signing of this repressive legislation into law Ireland had cut off its development links on a bilateral basis with the Ugandan Government due to the fraud that had been perpetrated earlier in respect of €4 million in ODA, all of which was recouped. We do not engage with the Ugandan Government but we continue to provide aid. We have been asked by the civil society organisation, some of whose members I met last autumn, not to cut off our aid to Uganda. They said it would be counterproductive and detrimental to the poor people who receive Irish Aid, and that it would possibly result in a backlash, meaning that human rights would suffer.

Other countries have moved to cut their aid but Ireland has decided to go with the wishes of Ugandan civil society.

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