2022 Year in Review

The role of the US and the EU in promoting
human rights in SSA is vexed, and the
advocacy of LGBTQ+ rights is no exception.
Since 2010, Western nations have used the
threat of aid withdrawal, and rhetorical
condemnations to overturn homophobic
legal decisions.
Although no doubt a noble idea, the
effectiveness of Western attempts to
pressure and coerce homophobic African
countries to amend laws and protect gay
rights often fails to consider the colonial
overtones, especially the role of colonial
legal codes in the outlawing of homosexual
relations.
It has become increasingly common for
Western countries to promote LGBTQ+
rights in non-Western countries. In 2011,
the Obama administration announced that
the USA would promote gay rights through
diplomatic means throughout the world,
stating that ‘gay rights are human rights
and human rights are gay rights’.
These methods involved two main
practices in the African context: diplomatic
denunciation and shaming from Western
nations, and the threat or actual
withdrawal of aid.
Criticism of homophobic African legislation
is common, and can lead to diplomatic
rows: in 2019, the US ambassador to
Zambia was recalled after criticising the
jailing of a homosexual couple.
However, the threat of withdrawing aid is
presumed to be more impactful, given the
reliance of many Sub-Saharan African
states on foreign aid. In the early 2010s,
Britain and America threatened the
withdrawal of aid in response to
homophobic legislation in Malawi, Ghana
and Uganda.
However, these threats were unsuccessful
and counterproductive. In Malawi, there
was a severe backlash against members of
the LGBTQ+ community, for the perception
that they were responsible for the decline
in aid.
The colonial legacy greatly impacts the
perception of Western LGBTQ+ rights
advocacy. When homosexuality is viewed
as an inherently ‘un-African’ behaviour that
was imported from the West, Western
support for LGTBQ+ rights becomes
perceived as a threat that undermines the
creation of a strong and unified African
identity.
The perception that the West is attempting
to coerce African nations into adopting
policies that undermine Africa is especially
potent for populist leaders looking to
cement power. This was Ugandan
president Yoweri Museveni’s strategy when
Western nations cut aid in 2014. The threat
of outside political interference from
powerful Western countries can be
leveraged and used to reinforce
homophobic attitudes.
P A G E 1 7 0