In another indication that it won’t continue with development aid to regimes that defy acceptable standards of behaviour, the UK government has announced that it will reduce assistance to countries that have anti-gay policies.
Earlier this year, Britain’s secretary for international development Andrew Mitchell suspended £19m (€21.7m) in aid to Malawi over governance concerns. Now Mitchell has announced that he is considering similar sanctions against Uganda and Ghana, where gays and lesbians face constant persecution.
If all major aid donors were to adopt the same zero-tolerance attitude to corruption, anti-democratic practices and human rights abuses, then we might make some tangible progress on the closely related issues of severe poverty and deprivation in the developing world.
While donors are prepared to turn a blind eye to delinquent behaviour, then little wonder it continues unabated.
John O’Shea
GOAL
