80% of Commonwealth countries criminalise LGBTIs
Commonwealth leaders ignore LGBTI rights at Sri Lanka summit
London, UK – 11 November 2013
Commonwealth leaders from around the world meet in Sri Lanka this week. Yet again they plan to ignore the criminalisation of LGBTI people in 80% of Commonwealth member states, including the current homophobic persecution in Ghana, Cameroon, Zambia, Uganda and Nigeria.
Join us to demand action – not silence – from the Commonwealth:
12 noon to 2pm, this Wednesday 13 November
Commonwealth HQ, Marlborough House
Corner of Pall Mall and St James’s Street, London SW1Y 5HX
Nearest tubes: Green Park and Piccadilly Circus.
Map: http://bit.ly/17fqa3e
The theme of the protest is:
“LGBTI equality in the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth must speak out and act against LGBTI persecution.”
Wednesday’s protest is timed to take place just two days before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) opens in Sri Lanka.
It is jointly sponsored by the Kaleidoscope Trust, the Peter Tatchell Foundation and the African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group.
A new Kaleidoscope Trust report on the lives of LGBTI people across the Commonwealth is published today: http://kaleidoscopetrust.com/speaking-out
Over 40 Commonwealth nations still criminalise homosexuality. They account for more than half of the world’s countries where same-sex relations are illegal. Six of these Commonwealth countries stipulate life imprisonment: Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Pakistan, Uganda, Bangladesh and Guyana.
This massive scale of anti-LGBTI persecution makes a mockery of the Commonwealth Charter that was agreed earlier this year. It supposedly commits the member states to respect universal human rights, including the human rights of millions of LGBTI Commonwealth citizens. Despite most members having failed to meet this commitment, the Commonwealth says and does nothing.
The Commonwealth should have never agreed to hold its summit in Sri Lanka, given the country’s appalling human rights record. Many thousands of Tamil civilians (around 40,000) were massacred by the government in the closing stages of the civil war in 2009. In addition, the Sri Lankan LGBTI movement has been forced to go underground after threats against it.
Alistair Stewart, Assistant Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust, said:
“The Commonwealth has consistently refused to address the issue of human rights for LGBTI people and the forthcoming Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka will be no different. More than half of all the countries in the world that still make being gay a crime are in the Commonwealth. This is a stain on an organisation supposedly committed to equal rights for all.”
Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, added:
“The Commonwealth Secretariat’s silence over the homophobic witch-hunts in Cameroon and Zambia is shameful. Silence is collusion. The member states should honour the principles of the Commonwealth Charter. This means: 1) Decriminalisation of homosexuality; 2) Laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; 3) Enforcement of legislation against threats and violence, to protect LGBTI people from hate crimes; and 4) Government consultation and dialogue with LGBTI organisations.”
Edwin Sesange, Director of the African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group, said:
“Although the Secretary General of the Commonwealth continues to condemn homophobia, we are calling for action. Countries that persecute LGBTI people – such as Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria, Malawi and Jamaica – should be suspended from the Commonwealth. Homophobia and transphobia are violations of human rights and should be raised at the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka by the Secretary General, Prime Minister David Cameroon and other national leaders. No future Commonwealth meeting should be held in a country that persecutes LGBTI people or violates other human rights.”
Further information:
Alistair Stewart,
Assistant Director, Kaleidoscope Trust
07738 01 7740
alastair@kaleidoscopetrust.com
Edwin Sesange
Director, African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group
0744 806 3053
sesa215@googlemail.com