Ghana Law Tests World Bank Loyalty With $20 Billion on The Line
The lender faces a difficult funding decision if Accra chooses to go ahead with a punitive anti-LGBTQ law that clashes with its own standards.
Protesters opposed to Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ bill outside the Ghana High Commission in London on March 6.
Photographer: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty ImagesGhana’s Supreme Court will on Wednesday start hearing a case that has the potential to both threaten the West African country’s $20 billion debt restructuring and test the World Bank’s commitment to support LGBTQ rights.
The court is being asked to strike down legislation that would jail those who identify as LGBTQ and punish others — family members, co-workers, teachers — if they fail to inform on them to the authorities. If the court rejects the appeal, the World Bank will face a dilemma: should it continue to support the anti-poverty fight in Ghana or defend liberal values.