WASHINGTON, CMC – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is calling on Caribbean countries that still maintain criminalising legislation to repeal them as it welcomed the ruling last month by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), which declared unconstitutional the criminalisation of consensual sexual relations between same sex adults.
The IACHR, an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), said that with this decision, St. Lucia joins other countries whose courts have struck down criminalisation provisions as human rights violations.
In 2021, litigants Randall Theodule, Vernon Bellas and United and Strong Incorporation, filed a claim against the St. Lucia government contending that sections 132 and 133 of the Criminal Code criminalising buggery and gross indecency with a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment were inconsistent with various constitutional rights protected under the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of Saint Lucia.
The ECSC, in its ruling on July 29, found that the legislation which criminalised same sex consensual acts contravened the rights to protection of the law, privacy, and discrimination, among others.
The Court also found a probable link between these laws and prejudice-based crimes against persons with diverse sexual orientations.
The IACHR said that legislative provisions that criminalise private consensual same sex relations are against international human rights standards, as they violate human dignity, privacy, and freedom of expression.
“The IACHR has noted that even when these laws are not enforced, they hurt society, as they foster prejudice, encourage acts of violence, enable a culture of impunity, and are used to justify the arbitrary arrests, detention, and even torture of LGBTI persons.”
The IACHR stated that in 2020, it emphasized that such criminal prohibitions interfere with aspects of individuals’ private lives based on a protected category of the American Convention without reasonable justification, thereby violating human rights standards. “Furthermore, they constitute barriers for persons with non-normative sexual orientations and gender identities to access other rights, such as freedom of association, freedom of expression, health, employment, and access to justice, among others.”
The human rights body said that out of the 13 member states in the Caribbean, only five continue to criminalise consensual sexual relations between same sex adults.
“This highlights a positive trend in which most OAS member states are moving towards decriminalisation,” the IACHR said, calling upon those states that still maintain criminalising legislation to repeal the laws that facilitate the persecution of LGBTI persons.
“Further, all States of the region are urged to take concrete actions to protect the rights of LGBTI persons and to continue advancing their social inclusion and real equality by promoting cultural shifts towards democracies respectful of human rights and diversity,” the IACHR said, adding that it reaffirms its commitment to States and civil society organizations to assist in the processes to create a legal framework that protects LGBTI persons from all forms of violence and discrimination.
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