End criminalisation of same-sex intimacy across the Commonwealth, says Human Dignity Trust

As we mark Commonwealth Day, the Human Dignity Trust is making an urgent call to leaders of the 29 Commonwealth countries that maintain discriminatory anti-LGBT criminal laws to end the criminalisation of consensual same-sex intimacy.

The theme for this year’s Commonwealth Day is ‘Together We Thrive’. Societies that are respectful of LGBT people create inclusive environments, which in turn lead to greater cultural and economic prosperity. There is strength in diversity — when people are free to be themselves, everyone in society benefits. Yet Commonwealth countries remain particularly implicated in the ongoing criminalisation of LGBT people, says the Trust.

Historic wins in the past decade decriminalising consensual same-sex intimacy in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific have been hard won and life-changing for LGBT people. However, many Commonwealth countries still maintain archaic laws originally imposed by the British during the colonial era. These laws are from a bygone age, and the Commonwealth needs to accelerate action to eradicate them.

Téa Braun, Chief Executive of the Human Dignity Trust

The laws that criminalise LGBT people were largely spread during the colonial period, as Britain expanded its control over large parts of the world, exporting its discriminatory criminal laws to new regions. Unlike the other European powers that did not criminalise consensual sexual intimacy, Britain was prolific in spreading provisions criminalising same-sex sexual activity to its colonies, hence the concentration of Commonwealth countries that continue to maintain such laws today.

The impacts of such discriminatory legislation can be profound. In the Caribbean, for example, the impact has been deep and long lasting and has fed into the homophobia and notions of masculinity that are still present to this day, according to Glenroy Murray, Executive Director of Equality for All Foundation Jamaica (J-FLAG), an LGBTQ+ rights organisation based in Jamaica, and the Human Dignity Trust’s Senior Associate for the Caribbean.

The criminalization of same-sex intimacy is inextricably tied up in the colonial history of the English-speaking Caribbean, and decriminalization, therefore, forms part of a larger decolonization project that has been ongoing since the mid-20th century. As noted by courts in our region, these laws not only violate rights, but also act as state-sanctioned symbols of the exclusion and discrimination that many LGBTQ+ people face across the region. If the Commonwealth is to truly stand for inclusive development for all, then these laws have no place in a modern Commonwealth of Nations.

Glenroy Murray, Executive Director of J-FLAG

Téa Braun adds, ‘At a time of increasing threats to the rule of law as it relates to LGBT human rights in many parts of the world, it is essential that the Commonwealth and its individual member states demonstrate leadership in condemning and eradicating harmful legislation that singles out the LGBT community and encourages violence, division and repression.’

This past year has seen the first increase in the number of criminalising countries worldwide, from a figure of 63 to 64. Accompanying this change are worrying developments in the expansion of anti-LGBT legislation in existing criminalising jurisdictions such as Ghana and Uganda, both members of the Commonwealth, as well as the introduction of such legislation in non-Commonwealth countries that had never previously criminalised consensual same-sex intimacy.

Now, more than ever, the concept of ‘Together we Thrive’ is a pressing rallying call that we should all gather behind as we look to reverse these disturbing trends, say the Trust.

Notes to editors

To view the Trust’s recently launched documentary film A Better Place please click here.
View the Trust’s assessment of sexual offence laws in Commonwealth countries using our online tool.
The Human Dignity Trust works with LGBT activists and lawyers around the world to defend human rights in countries where private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity is criminalised. We provide free technical legal assistance to local organisations and lawyers that are challenging laws that persecute people on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.