16 November 2012
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert
Colville
Location: Geneva
Subject: Cameroon/homophobia
The UN human rights office is deeply concerned by reports from Cameroon of the
harassment, intimidation, arrest and imprisonment of individuals on suspicion of
being lesbian or gay.
The current Cameroonian penal code criminalizes "sexual relations with a person of
the same sex" and provides for a penalty of up to five years imprisonment and a fine.
The law as it stands is in breach of Cameroon's international human rights
commitments and violates rights to privacy and to freedom from discrimination, both
of which are guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
While the penal code relates specifically to sexual conduct, we are seriously
concerned that it is being applied in a broad-brush way to prosecute many individuals
on the basis of their appearance, their mannerisms, style of speech or general
conduct. In 2011, for example, Roger Jean-Claude Mbédé was convicted of
suspected homosexual conduct after the authorities discovered he has sent a text
message to another man that read "I am very much in love with you". Last month,
Jonas Singa Kumie and Franky Djome were convicted on the basis of evidence of
their appearance, which was perceived as effeminate, and the fact that they had
been seen drinking Bailey's Irish Cream.
It is especially worrying to receive reports of anonymous threats being made against
human rights defenders working to protect the rights of LGBT persons. A prominent
Cameroonian lawyer, Alice Nkom, who has defended in court many of those charged
with homosexuality-related offences in recent years, has received a multiple threats
to her life and well-being and the well-being of her family. Civil society organizations
that have spoken out on behalf of LGBT people have also been threatened and
intimidated.
The Government has a duty to end these abuses. It should provide adequate
protection to human rights defenders working to protect the rights of LGBT persons.
It also should also use the ongoing review of the penal code to put forward
amendments to Article 347 bis, with a view to bringing the article into compliance with
Cameroon’s international treaty obligations. It is regrettable that the draft revised
code under discussion would go in the opposite direction: strengthening penalties for
same-sex relations and conflating homosexuality with non-consensual sexual
practices and pedophilia.
In the meantime, we are calling for an end to the arbitrary arrest and detention of all
persons suspected of homosexual behaviour under Art. 347 bis. of the current penal
code and access to justice for those already detained.
The fact that homophobic attitudes are apparently prevalent in Cameroon cannot be
used as justification for inaction. On the contrary, it is the reason why action is
urgent. As the High Commissioner said recently, States should confront prejudice,
not submit to it.
ENDS
For more information or media requests, please contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767
/ rcolville@ohchr.org)
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Related information for the Spokesperson’s use in case of questions:
Cameroon
Article 347 bis. of the Cameroonian Penal Code of 1965 and 1967, as amended in
1972: ‘Whoever has sexual relations with a person of the same sex shall be punished
with imprisonment from six months to five years and fine of from 20,000 to 200,000
francs.’
Since 1994, the UN Human Rights Committee has consistently held that
criminalization of private, consensual, same-sex relationships violates rights to
privacy and to freedom from discrimination, both of which are protected under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. International human rights law
establishes an obligation on the part of all States to decriminalize such relationships,
wherever criminal sanctions remain in effect, and to enact legal safeguards to protect
all individuals from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Uganda
The High Commissioner and several special rapporteurs have previously expressed
concern at the prospect of the Anti-homosexuality Bill in Uganda receiving
Parliamentary approval (e.g. ref. HC press statement of 15 January 2010 and
subsequent passing references, and joint statement by special procedures 1 March
2010).
The bill includes provisions that would impose penalties for failing to report
information concerning suspected same-sex conduct, and longer prison sentences,
including life imprisonment and even the death penalty in some circumstances, for
consensual same-sex relationships. These proposals are deeply disturbing and
completely incompatible with Uganda’s international human rights obligations.
In addition to the Anti-homosexuality Bill, it is understood that two further bills are
under discussion informally, although neither have yet been formally submitted to the
Parliament. One is a proposed Sexual Offences Bill, the other a bill introducing
certain amendments to Uganda’s existing criminal code. Both of these include
provisions that are very similar to those in the Anti-homosexuality bill, including
increased penalties for consensual, same-sex conduct, and tough new penalties for
so-called “promotion” of homosexuality.
It should be noted that Uganda already criminalizes consensual, same-sex
relationships under a law inherited from the British. The law is an anachronism of the
colonial era and should be repealed, not strengthened. In this context it is ironic that
proponents of the Anti-homosexuality bill are presenting the bill’s passage as a way
for Uganda to assert its post-colonial independence.
People in Uganda are fully entitled to their own moral or religious views about
homosexuality. But the State cannot withhold basic rights from certain individuals just
because the majority disapproves of them. Yet that is what the current law does and
the changes proposed in the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would exacerbate.
Nigeria
A bill before the Nigerian parliament would, if adopted, make same-sex marriages
punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment for the couple involved, and 10 years for
anyone found guilty of “abetting” such unions. The bill also provides for a penalty of
10 years’ imprisonment for any person who “directly or indirectly makes public show
of same-sex amorous relationships.
The Same-Sex Marriages Bill was adopted by the Senate in November 2011 and
earlier this week completed its second reading in the lower House, the House of
Representatives. It now proceeds to a parliamentary committee for a line-by-line
review.