David Cameron Eyes Aid Sanctions on Countries with Anti-gay Rules
The United Kingdom is “putting the pressure on” countries that ban homosexuality, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said at last week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Australia, where the prime minister stressed his government is prepared to impose aid sanctions on recipient countries that would not reform their policies.
“Britain is one of the premier aid givers in the world. We want to see countries that receive our aid adhering to proper human rights,” Cameron told BBC while at the meeting held Oct. 28 to 30, 2011 in Perth, Australia.
Cameron said his government believes U.K. aid should come with more strings attached, but recognized that “you can’t expect countries to change overnight.”
Human rights reform, including anti-gay policies, was among the topics Commonwealth heads of governments failed to agree on during their summit, according to BBC, which noted that 41 of the 54 member countries of the Commonwealth ban homosexuality.
Cameron’s warning during the summit backs and confirms a warning from U.K. Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell that the government is considering such sanctions to encourage human rights reforms among U.K. aid recipient countries.
A group of African social justice activists, however, has raised concerns over this move by the U.K. government.
“While the intention may well be to protect the rights of LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex] people on the continent, the decision to cut aid disregards the role of the LGBTI and broader social justice movement on the continent and creates the real risk of a serious backlash against LGBTI people,” the activists say in an open letter published in the Black Looks blog.