Jonathan Cooper
Chief Executive
Human Dignity Trust
5 FEBRUARY 2015
FIVE ASKS
I.
Criminalisation of homosexuality per se must be recognised as
persecution, including for the purposes of the Refugee
Convention
II.
Past wrongs need to be addressed and impunity for persecution
of the LGBT community challenged. There should be an inquiry
into the causes and consequences of LGBT persecution.
III. The Anglican Church needs to take a lead in tackling LGBT
persecution across the globe
IV. The FCO and DfID must make tackling LGBT persecution a
stated priority with clear and achievable objectives
V.
The Commonwealth must lead and guide member states through
the decriminalisation process
CRIMINALISATION IS PERSECUTION



LGBTI people living in
persecutory environments: 175
million (2.5% of world’s
population of 7 Billion)
Sexual orientation or gender
identity is perceived or known:
1.75 million (1% of the LGBTI
people living under persecutory
conditions)
Seriously harmed or threatened
in countries of origin: 175,000
(1% of perceived or known
LGBTI people)
NAMING & SHAMING THE 79 JURISDICTIONS
WHICH CRIMINALISE
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros,
Cook Islands, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gaza, Ghana,
Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia (South Sumatra and Aceh
Province), Iran, Iraq (status unclear), Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nauru,
Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, St Kitts & Nevis, St
Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South
Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga,
Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab
Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe
CRIMINALISATION OF LESBIANS


35 countries globally have laws that apply equally to lesbians.
Those named and shamed are:
Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Botswana, Brunei
Darussalam, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Dominica, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Iran, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia,
Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
Solomon Islands, Sudan, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, UAE,
Uganda, Yemen, Zambia
There are an additional 20 countries where the law is unclear
UNEQUAL AGE OF CONSENT
16 countries with an unequal age of
consent:
Australia (Queensland); Benin; Bahamas; Canada;
Chad; Chile; Congo; Côte d’Ivoire; Gabon; Greece;
Indonesia; Madagascar; Niger; Paraguay; Rwanda;
and Suriname
A WEEK CAN FEEL A LONG TIME WHEN YOU
ARE BEING PERSECUTED





28 January 2015 In Uganda 9 gay men arrested after
being attacked by a mob
27 January 2015 A man was tortured after being
arrested for homosexuality in Gambia
27 January 2015 12 men arrested after allegedly
attending a same-sex wedding in Nigeria
20 January 2015 In Egypt increase in homosexualityrelated prosecutions due to Government pressure
20 January 2015 Cameroonian trans woman suffers
repeated attacks
GARETH’S STORY
“Living in Jamaica as a gay man, I experienced and lived with tremendous loss.
I lived daily being paralyzed by fear, knowing that there is a high probability
that I will be killed. Choosing to be myself, is also equal to choosing, to be
hated, dehumanized, chased through the streets by barbaric men, women and
children and beaten and dragged by policemen.
You live feeling stifled, gasping for breath, drowning in your anxiety, as you risk
daily taking the advantage of the gift of life. There is the feeling of just giving
up on life, why bother? There is just no place safe to be… who I am.
Given I risked my safety to be the voice of my community, I placed a target on
my back, I felt like a fugitive sought after by the police. I lived knowing that one
day I will be killed because of who I am. The fear I experienced stills lives on
even though I am living in the safety of Canada. It is not until gays and
lesbians around the world are free to BE, that I will be truly free.”
PROSSY’S STORY
‘Growing up in Uganda as a lesbian was scary. I could never relax and let my
guard down around people as I knew that could land me in serious trouble. On
a regular basis, you'd hear things like, "Being gay is a sin, it's disgusting, who
does that?! Kill them, all of them are a waste of space.”
‘This is at school, on the streets, newspapers, even in church! As a young person
coming to terms with your sexuality, that's hard to hear. I actually started to
believe what they said. I hated myself and prayed that I'd change.
‘The thoughts of hurting myself were never too far from my mind. The thought
of anybody finding out that I was a lesbian, terrified me! And of course that
terror turned to reality when I was found with my girlfriend. And what
happened to us was even worse than what I had imagined in my worst
nightmares.’
ARE LGBT PEOPLE PROTECTED FROM
PERSECUTION?
Is There Protection From Living the Reality of
Criminalisation?



LGBTI people living in persecutory environments: 175 million (2.5% of
world’s population of 7 Billion)
Sexual orientation or gender identity is perceived or known: 1.75 million
(1% of the LGBTI people living under persecutory conditions)
Seriously harmed or threatened in countries of origin: 175,000 (1% of
perceived or known LGBTI people)

Able to flee and subsist in countries of transit/asylum: 17,500

Able to access legal protection system: 7,500

Apply for refugee status/asylum: 5,000

2012: Granted legal protection: 2,500
CALEB’S STORY
‘Sexual “deviation” is challenged by boys who yell “batty man, faggot, fruit cake,
Pow! Pow!” while pretending to pull a trigger.
‘Ridicule and intimidation come with being gay in Belize. Group attacks, though rare,
do occur in high school where looking soft gets you harassed or into a fight, while
the teacher would make jokes in class. No friends or social support, fear grows, trust
becomes difficult.
‘People always say, “It’s none of my business, as long as you don't bring it to me!“
At the same time I could sense their anger at me for being effeminate, for violating
some unwritten social code. Privacy, as I’ve come to discover, isn’t just in the home,
but an extension of my expression.
‘There is a price to pay and I pay it every day, with disapproving stares, the anxiety
of imminent attack, being guarded with strangers, friends ignoring me on the streets,
not going out, not having a personal life.
‘I am now 40; I have lots of people who know me, but that’s not the same as having
a friend who can protect your privacy. Time will tell.’
CAN THERE BE BENIGN PERSECUTION?




LGBT people from Jamaica and Uganda will (almost
certainly) be granted asylum
What about Belize?
UK (and EU) policy is that criminalisation of LGBT
people without more will not in itself amount to
persecution
The criminal law is designed to shame and stigmatise.
LGBT people in countries which criminalise are
unapprehended felons
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BENIGN
CRIMINALISATION
With criminalisation comes:

killings and deaths: murder, homicides, suicides

prosecutions and convictions;

fear of arrest, detention, prosecution and conviction;

arbitrary detention and police abuse and harassment even where charges are not brought or
prosecutions are discontinued;

police entrapment and surveillance;

harassment, violence, blackmail and extortion by state and non-state actors;

stigmatisation and marginalisation of LGBT people as “unapprehended felons” reinforcing the
misapprehensions and general prejudice of the public;

discrimination and denial of essential services in health, employment and housing;

shame and humiliation;

a culture of impunity for violent and/or property crimes and discrimination

shattered families;

hindering measures to stop the spread of HIV; and

impairing development and poverty reduction generally.
RIGHTING WRONGS






The UK may now have, to all intents and purposes,
full legal equality
Past injustices need to be addressed
Should there be pardons for all?
Should there be an independent inquiry into the
harm caused by the British state to LGBT people in
the UK and abroad?
Were the British complicit in the Holocaust as it
affected gay men?
Arise Sir Alan Turing? (not literally)
A ROAD RED WITH MARTYRDOMS

In 1897, after his release from
prison, Oscar Wilde wrote to a
friend, George Ives, predicting
the future for gay men:
Yes: I have no doubt we shall
win, but the road is long and
red with monstrous
martyrdoms. Nothing but the
repeal of [gross indecency]
would do any good. That is
essential.
FROM FEAR TO FREEDOM: THE UK’S JOURNEY TO
ENDING LGBT PERSECUTION








Sexual Offences Act 1967 & Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act
1980
Dudgeon v UK 1981
Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982
Criminal Justice Act & Public Order Act 1994 – lowered but
retained unequal age of consent
Sutherland v UK 1998
ADT v UK 2000
Sexual Offences Amendment Act 2000 – age of consent
Sexual Offences Act 2003 – the end of gross indecency &
creation of victim-centred laws
WHAT DID THE ROMANS EVER DO FOR
YOU?




Since the 4th century, when the Roman
Empire adopted Christianity, Christian
doctrines have been the major source for
LGBT persecution
These Christians were concerned that sexual
diversity would promote religious diversity
and needed to draw a line between the old
order and the new faith: LGBT people were
the scapegoat
Same-sex marriage was abolished and then
same-sex conduct criminalised
These Church Fathers attacked same-sex
love as perverse and evil: ‘I say to you that
these are even worse than murderers, and that
it would be better to die than to live in such
dishonour’ (John Chrysostom)
HENRY VIII SEALS OUR FATE
 Homosexuality was governed by canon law
not civil law in the Middle Ages
 With the Reformation in England, the socalled Buggery Law of 1533 made same-sex
love a civil crime for the first time
 Prosecutions for sodomy led to witch hunts,
executions and drove men to suicide
GROSS INDECENCY






Unless caught in the act, consensual sex
between men was hard to prove
The Labouchere Amendment to the
Criminal Justice Act 1885, passed without
a vote, introduced the crime of gross
indecency
Gross Indecency – an offence of intimacy
– it could only be consensual - became a
catch-all, which required little actual proof
to secure convictions
This 'Blackmailer's Charter' would blight
the lives of tens of thousands of men for
over a century
Oscar Wilde was the first man to be
convicted of gross indecency
Yet men and women still found a way to
live their lives, often in secret.
I WANT YOU
LESBIANS




The situation of women in the UK
offers parallels with that of men
The criminalisation of lesbians was
contemplated in the 1920s and
though not officially criminalised,
lesbians suffered the same levels
of hatred and stigmatisation
A strong lesbian sub-culture grew
up between the wars based
around clubs and private parties
A vibrant feminist critique
emerged around lesbian critical
theory
THE WORST PLACE TO BE GAY
Michael PittRivers, Lord
Montagu and
Peter
Wildeblood
during their
trial in 1954
 At any one time in the 1950s
there were over 1,000 men in
prison for homosexual
offences
 Blackmail and fear of the
authorities were everyday
realities of most gay men
 Suicide remains the
unquantified epidemic
Alan Turing (above),
convicted 1952
Sir John Gielgud (left),
convicted in 1953
Turing and Gielgud were
convicted but not
imprisoned
The right which I claim for myself, and for all those like
me, is the right to choose the person whom I love…. I seek
only to apply to my own life the rules which govern the
lives of all good men and women: freedom to choose a
partner and, when that partner is found, to live with him
discreetly and faithfully.
Peter Wildeblood
Against the Law 1955
CHALLENGING CHURCHILL’S LIBERAL
CREDENTIALS?


1950s increase in convictions – MaxwellFyfe claimed he would 'rid England of the
plague' of homosexuality
Winston Churchill commented:
The Tory Party won’t accept responsibility for
making the law on homosexuality more
lenient... I wouldn’t touch the subject. Let it get
worse – in hope of a more united public
pressure for some amendment… Remember
that we can’t expect to put the whole world
right with a majority of 18.


Was he right? In 1954 the Wolfenden
Committee was set up as a result of highprofile cases
10 years between the Wolfenden Report
1957 and the Sexual Offences Act 1967
which gave partial decriminalisation in
England and Wales,
WHEN THE STATE JUST CAN’T GIVE UP







BUT between 1967 and 1975 prosecutions for gross indecency doubled
Police tactics included stake-outs of public lavatories, agents provocateurs and
extended surveillance of gay pubs and bars
This frenzy of prosecution peaked in the late 1980s with over 2,000 convictions
for gross indecency and over 1,100 for buggery in 1989
This was also the decade which gave us the infamous Section 28 of the Local
Government Act 1988. At the same time many of our loved ones were dying.
Old Victorian laws were resurrected to charge men for kissing in public or
dancing together
As men began to challenge their prosecutions in the late '80s and 1990s,
byelaws were increasingly used to obtain convictions as these did not allow for
a jury trial – magistrates being more likely to convict
Between 1967 and 2002 police recorded over 35,000 offences of gross
indecency
WAS THERE BRITISH COMPLICITY?




During the Nazi regime it’s estimated that up to 60% of gay
men in concentration camps were killed.
In 1945 gay survivors could be re-imprisoned for 'repeat
offences'
They were also kept on a list of sex offenders
Under the Allied Military Government of West Germany,
dominated by Britain and the US, several gay men were
imprisoned following the liberation of the concentration
camps, regardless of how long they had spent in the camps
HOW DAMAGED ARE WE?




Our persecution needs to be documented
There should be a truth and reconciliation
inquiry into the causes and consequences
of our persecution and what it means for
the future
There should be a state-supported museum
where LGBT persecution is revealed
There needs to be a dedicated monument
WHY CAN’T THE CHURCH LEAD THE
WAY?



LGBT persecution cannot end
whilst it is condoned by religious
organisations, notably those
associated with Christianity,
Judaism and Islam
The Anglican Communion should
hold an inquiry into
criminalisation and its
consequences across the globe
and the Church’s responsibilities
Leadership from Lambeth Palace
is essential
THE CHURCH SAVED ME, WHAT ABOUT
THEM?


After centuries of supporting the
suppression of LGBT people, in the
1950s the Church of England came out
in favour of decriminalisation
At the time of the Wolfenden Report in
1957 Archbishop Fisher stated:
There is a sacred realm of privacy...
into which the law, generally
speaking, must not intrude. This is a
principle of the utmost importance
for the preservation of human
freedom, self-respect, and
responsibility


10 years later Archbishop Ramsey
helped steer the Sexual Offences Act
through the House of Lords
Why do gay Englishmen have dignity
but not others?
WHAT DO THE GOSPELS SAY?
HAS THE OLD TESTAMENT BEEN SEXED
UP?

Deuteronomy 23: 17-18
‘there shall be no … sodomite of the sons of Israel’
(traditional translation)
'…none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute'
(original Hebrew)

Leviticus 18:22
‘you shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an
abomination’ (Greek translation)
‘you shall not lie with a male on the bedding [or bed] of a
woman [or wife]; it is a despised thing’ (original Hebrew)
DOES ST PAUL ACTUALLY CONDEMN?

Paul, Corinthians 6: 9-10
‘the effeminate, and men who lie with men’ will not inherit
the Kingdom of God (Greek)
‘the corrupted, and those who rape men…’ (Aramaic)

Paul, Romans I:23-28
'for even their women did change their natural use into
that against nature… and likewise also their men…
burned in their lust one towards another'
Most scholars recognise this as a warning against idolatry
and paganism
A SERENE & GUIDING LIGHT




The only root of LGBT persecution is the Bible
But is there a theological basis for our persecution?
Why this choice and not another?
'All over the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people are persecuted. They face violence, torture and
criminal sanctions because of how they live and who they
love. We make them doubt that they too are children of
God – and this must be nearly the ultimate blasphemy.‘
(Archbishop Desmond Tutu)
THE BEAUTY OF ISLAM



The Koranic text and Hadiths of Islam are
much less open to interpretation in their
condemnation of homosexuality
Although attitudes may derive from earlier
Judeo-Christian interpretations of Scripture
Earlier Islamic societies were openly
tolerant of same-sex relationships
'My soul spills into yours.
Because it's absorbed your fragrance
I cherish it.
Every drop of blood I spill
Informs the earth;
I merge with my beloved
When I participate in love'
(Rumi, 13th C)
IS THIS ISLAM?




Modern persecution of LGBT people in
Islam can be characterised as a hangup from colonial attitudes introduced
by the British in the Middle East, parts
of Africa and what is now Pakistan in
the 19th & 20th centuries.
It has led to the death penalty in a
number of Islamic countries, notably
Saudi Arabia and Iran
Horrifying images of men and women
killed for being gay or lesbian have
come to define our understanding of
Islamic homophobia
But is this Islam?
SHOULD HMG BE DOING MORE?




The FCO have stated human rights priorities, including
preventing torture and the death penalty
Ending the persecution of the LGBT community across the
globe is not one of them
The FCO genuinely care, but tackling LGBT persecution must
become a stated priority with clear and achievable
objectives
Criminalisation can end, but the international community
needs a united co-ordinated and well-resourced response
which listens to and supports local LGBT activists, as well as
working with Governments
SHOULD HMG BE DOING MORE?





A global strategy, shared between the FCO, DfID and
across government should be devised in consultation
with those who would be most affected by it
Litigation should be supported
Reform of sexual offences laws should be assisted
Identifiable funding streams should be established
Protection from persecution should be prioritised
HOW WILL CRIMINALISATION END?








Locally supported litigation
Locally supported legislative reform
Locally supported advocacy
Targeted funding and support
Engagement with multilateral fora
Bilateral negotiations
Creative use of diplomatic tools
Travel bans for identifiable persecutors
DOES LITIGATION WORK?
The reality is, in most jurisdictions reform will be
litigation led
The consequences of litigation include:
 Already vulnerable people are exposed
 Who owns the litigation?
 Cost implications
 How to ensure the best legal arguments
 Democratic legitimacy
 What happens when litigation fails?
1990: JURISDICTIONS WHICH CRIMINALISED OR
PERMITTED CRIMINALISATION
2015: JURISDICTIONS WHICH CRIMINALISE
AN OVERVIEW OF LITIGATION TO DECRIMINALISE
CONSENSUAL SAME-SEX ACTS
Successful challenges
Setbacks
Ongoing cases
United Kingdom (N.Ireland)
Botswana
Belize
Ireland
India
India
Australia (Tasmania)
Singapore
Jamaica
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Malawi
Ecuador
Nepal
Fiji
United States
Cyprus
Turkish Republic of N.
Cyprus*
* Case filed before the ECHR. Offending provisions repealed
Countries where cases
challenging criminalisation
have been brought
SUCCESSFUL LITIGATION ON KEY RELATED ISSUES
INCLUDE:
 United Kingdom (age of consent, military service, trans
rights)
 Austria (age of consent)
 Hong Kong (age of consent/ criminalisation of acts in public)
 Colombia (employment discrimination, military service)
 Peru (military service)
 Canada (excluding sexual orientation from non-discrimination
laws)
 Trinidad and Tobago (excluding sexual orientation from nondiscrimination laws)
 Russia (freedom of assembly or association)
 Moldova (freedom of assembly or association)
 Philippines (registration of a political party)
 Chile (child custody)
 Malaysia (criminalisation of cross-dressing)
ONGOING CASES ON KEY RELATED ISSUES
 Guyana (challenging cross-dressing laws)
 Uganda (freedom of assembly or association /
challenging enhanced criminalisation)
 Nigeria (challenging enhanced criminalisation)
 Kenya (registration of LGBT organisation)
 Botswana (registration of LGBT organisation)
 Belize (challenging discriminatory immigration
laws)
 Trinidad and Tobago (challenging discriminatory
immigration laws)
THE (VERY BRAVE) MAN IN WHOSE
NAME THIS ALL HAPPENED
Jeff
Dudgeon
AND THE (VERY BRILLIANT) MAN WHO
MADE IT HAPPEN
Peter
Ashman
1950 2014
AND THE (EXCEPTIONAL AND OUTSTANDING) WOMAN WHO
CREATED THE FRAMEWORK WHICH ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN
HUMAN RIGHTS TO THE RESCUE
The UDHR

Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable
rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the world



Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind …
Guess What? Believe it or not, “everyone” includes us ….
WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT
EUROPE?
 Dudgeon v UK
 Norris v Ireland
 Modinos v Cyprus
 Sutherland v UK
 ADT v UK
 Smith & Grady v UK
 H C v Turkey (N Cyprus)
Cases on an equal age of consent (mainly against Austria)
Membership of the Council of Europe requires decriminalisation
Christine Goodwin eventually established the rights of trans people
in the UK
“SOME DAY WE’LL BE FREE… IF NOT
TOMORROW, THEN THE DAY AFTER THAT”






Yoweri Museveni: '… the topic of homosexuality was provoked by the arrogant and careless
Western groups that are fond of coming into our schools and recruiting young children into
homosexuality and lesbianism.'
A spokesman for Goodluck Jonathan: 'This is a law that is in line with the people's cultural
and religious inclination. So it is a law that is a reflection of the beliefs and orientation of
Nigerian people.'
Robert Mugabe: 'If you take men and lock them in a house for five years and tell them to
come up with two children and they fail to do that, then we will chop off their heads.'
Scott Lively: 'From Genesis to Revelation the Bible teaches that homosexuality is not "just
another sin". It is a symbol of extreme rebellion against God and harbinger of His wrath.'
Yahya Jammeh: ‘We will fight these vermins called homosexuals or gays the same way we
are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively.’
Portia Simpson Miller: 'We have to… consult our constituents and then we go with the
decisions of those consultations… [the issue] does not impact in a serious way the majority of
our people who are poor.'
ENHANCED CRIMINALISATION
A Crisis Facing the LGBTI Community Across the Globe
 Laws enhancing the criminalisation of LGBTI identity have been adopted in Gambia
and Nigeria. A similar law in Uganda was declared unlawful on a technicality. A
new law in Uganda is in the pipeline.
 These laws are additional to existing criminal laws prohibiting consensual sex
between adults of the same sex.
 The effect of these enhanced laws is to make LGBTI people outlaws.
 There is now no space – public or private – where people can be LGBTI in Nigeria
and Gambia.
 Other jurisdictions are likely to follow.
 Putin’s Russia has adopted laws targeting and isolating the LGBTI community.
 Should an interstate case be brought against Russia at the European Court of
Human Rights?
Status of Enhanced Criminalisation in
International Law:

A serious & systemic violation of human rights law?

Persecution?

A Crime Against Humanity?

No different than existing criminalisation?
SMUG v LIVELY

Has US Evangelical Scott Lively committed crimes against
humanity in Uganda?
A US Court, in a preliminary hearing, has held that Lively:
[W]orked with associations within Uganda to coordinate,
implement, and legitimate ‘strategies to dehumanize,
demonize, silence, and further criminalize the [Ugandan]
LGBTI community’ … [the] Defendant’s international activities
… succeeded in intimidating, oppressing and victimizing the
LGBTI community.
SMUG v LIVELY
With respect to LIVELY’s role in aiding and abetting persecutory acts:
 Essentially [Lively’s] role is alleged to be analogous to that of a leader
of a criminal enterprise.
 He participated in formulating the enterprise’s policies and strategies.
 He advised other participants on what actions might be most effective in
achieving the enterprise’s goals, such as criminalizing any expressions of
support for the LGBTI community and intimidating its members through
threats and violence.
 He generated and distributed propaganda that falsely vilified the
targeted community to inflame public hatred against it.
The case continues ….
LIVELY’S IMPACT

Frank Mugisha, Sexual Minorities
Uganda:
“Uganda has always been a
conservative society in which certain
things are not discussed, but it never
used to be a cruel environment for
gay people. Twenty years ago we
were not pursued by mobs, tortured
by police, or run out of our homes.
… Scott Lively first came to Uganda
in 2002 and began peddling his
distinctive variety of hot-headed and
active homophobia.”
GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE

PALAU
DECRIMINALISED in 2014
 Legislation not litigation
 Activist engagement
 UPR commitment
 Responsive Government
 Constructive dialogue
 Use of model penal code
GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE

Legislation must be the preferred option:
Bahamas
 New members of the Council of Europe
 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
 New Zealand
 Canada
 São Tomé and Príncipe
 Palau

Mozambique?
 Angola?

ENDING ALL FORMS OF CRIMINALISATION
MUST BE A PRIORITY
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The FCO and DfID must continue to devote all
available resources to end all forms of
criminalisation
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights must be supported in their work at every
opportunity
Consecutive UN Secretary Generals and High
Commissioners are to be congratulated and
thanked for their unswerving support
The Commonwealth has to do more
MIGHT THE COMMONWEALTH BE THE
KEY?
The 41 Commonwealth Countries Which Criminalise are
Named and Shamed:
Antigua and Barbuda; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belize; Botswana;
Brunei; Cameroon; Dominica; Ghana; Grenada; Guyana; India;
Jamaica; Kenya; Kiribati; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritius;
Mozambique; Namibia; Nauru; Nigeria; Pakistan; Papua New
Guinea; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines; Samoa; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore;
Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Swaziland; Tanzania; Tonga; Trinidad
and Tobago; Tuvalu; Uganda; Zambia.
BRITISH COLONIALISM
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Laws criminalising homosexuality are intrinsically British. They are
a British colonial legacy and were extended across the Empire
throughout the 19th and 20th centuries
Wherever the British went, criminalisation went too: from Egypt to
Iraq; from the colonies of North America to Ireland
These laws were exported to British colonies in India first and then
the Caribbean and Africa
It is these laws in their current manifestation which form the basis
of much of the persecution LGBT people face today in Asia, West
and East Africa and the Caribbean.
By upholding these laws, British colonial values are being
maintained
WHAT HAS THE COMMONWEALTH EVER
DONE FOR US?
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80% of the Commonwealth criminalises, which
represents 30% of the world’s population and 60%
of cases of HIV
In the Commonwealth Caribbean a gay man will
have a 1:4 chance of being infected with HIV. The
figure is 1:15 for the rest of the Caribbean
UN AIDS has stated that criminalisation both boosts
and causes HIV infections
Should the Commonwealth be doing more?
SHOULD WE HAVE TO ASK?
I.
Criminalisation of homosexuality per se must be recognised
as persecution, including for the purposes of the Refugee
Convention
II.
Past wrongs need to be addressed and impunity for
persecution of the LGBT community challenged. There should
be an independent inquiry
III. The Anglican Church needs to take a lead in tackling LGBT
persecution across the globe
IV. The FCO and DfID must make tackling LGBT persecution a
stated priority with clear and achievable objectives
V. The Commonwealth must lead and guide member states
through the decriminalisation process