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A White House spokesperson on Aug. 21 did not say whether the Trump-Vance administration plans to lift sanctions against Ugandan officials responsible for human rights abuses against LGBTQ people and other groups as part of an agreement to accept migrants deported from the U.S.
Ugandan Foreign Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary Bagiire Vincent Waiswa in a statement said the agreement between his country and the U.S. “is in respect of third country nationals who may not be granted asylum in the United States, but are reluctant to or may have concerns about returning to their countries of origin.”
Waiswa described the agreement as “a temporary arrangement with conditions, including that individuals with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted.”
“Uganda also prefers that individuals from African countries shall be the ones transferred to Uganda,” added Waiswa. “The two parties are working out the detailed modalities on how the agreement shall be implemented.”
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in May 2023 signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.”
The Biden-Harris administration imposed visa restrictions on Ugandan officials and removed the country from a program that allows sub-Saharan African countries to trade duty-free with the U.S. The World Bank Group in June resumed lending to Uganda after it suspended new loans in response to the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
The State Department’s 2024 human rights report that advocacy groups say “erased” LGBTQ people does not specifically mention the Anti-Homosexuality Act or the impact it has had on LGBTQ Ugandans. The report, however, does note Ugandan government officials “reportedly committed acts of sexual violence.”
“NGOs reported police medical staff subjected at least 15 persons to forced anal examinations following their arrests,” it reads. “Opposition protesters stated security forces used or threatened to use forced anal examinations during interrogations.”
“The Trump administration is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to carry out the largest mass deportation operation of criminal illegal aliens in history, using all the tools at our disposal,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in response to the Washington Blade’s request for comment on the agreement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday spoke with Museveni.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to discuss opportunities to deepen U.S.-Uganda cooperation on migration, reciprocal trade, and commercial ties,” said State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott in a statement. “The secretary also thanked Uganda for providing a model of regional stability including its valuable contributions to peacekeeping in East Africa.”
A State Department spokesperson told the Blade the State Department does not “comment on the content of private diplomatic negotiations.”
“However, we would note that for decades, Uganda has hosted refugees from across Africa and has one of the world’s most comprehensive protection regimes for refugees,” added the spokesperson.
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