International News: IGLHRC: Arrests of Gay Men in Senega

For Immediate Release Contact: Hossein Alizadeh, IGLHRC Communications Coordinator, 212-430-6016 (New York, Monday February 4, 2008)- In a letter to Senegalese Minister of Justice, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and PAN-Africa ILGA have demanded the immediate and unconditional release of up to 20 gay men believed to have been arrested on suspicion of homosexuality in Senegal in the past week. At least 7 and perhaps as many as 20 gay men have been arrested in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, since the morning of Sunday 3 February after a popular local magazine, Icones, published photographs of a marriage ceremony between two Senegalese men. The wedding is believed to have taken place in a discrete location in Dakar more than a year-and-a-half ago. Sources report that the photographs were sold to the sensationalist magazine by the photographer for 1,500,000 ($3000) CFA francs. The arrests were reportedly undertaken upon the orders of Mr. Asane Ndoye, head of the Senegalese Police’s Division of Criminal Investigation. It is unclear where the men and women are being held. “Mass arrests of people simply because they are gay terrorize the entire community,” said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC’s executive director. “The inhuman treatment of gay men and lesbians must stop. We call upon the world community to enforce international human rights law.” The U.N. Human Rights Committee affirmed in its decision in Toonen v. Australia (1994) that existing protection against discrimination in Articles 2 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) incorporates sexual orientation as a protected status. “We are afraid for our lives, especially those of us shown in the photographs,” said Jean R., a Senegalese gay activist who spoke to ILGA and IGLHRC from a hotel where he is seeking refuge. “Some of us have gone into hiding and others are fleeing the country.” Senegal is one of the few Francophone African countries that penalize homosexuality. Under Article 3.913 of the Senegalese penal code, homosexual acts are punishable by imprisonment of between one and five years and a fine of 100,000 ($200) to 1,500,000 ($3,000) CFA francs. While there are occasional arrests and convictions of gay men under the Article, social stigma and blackmail are the most prevalent abuses faced by gay men in the country. “Many consider Senegal to be one of the most progressive African countries on the issue of homosexuality,” said Joel Nana, IGLHRC’s Program Associate for West Africa. “The government has included a commitment to fighting HIV among men who have sex with men in its national AIDS response plan since 2005. That’s why we found these arrests to be very distressing.” Senegal has strong political and economic ties to a number of conservative Islamic governments and institutions, and will be hosting the summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference in March. The OIC has invested heavily in the rehabilitation of Dakar’s infrastructure in preparation for the Summit. Under the circumstances, IGLHRC and Pan-African ILGA expressed concern as to whether Senegal is well-suited to host the upcoming International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), scheduled to take place in Dakar in December 2008. “There will be no room for an open and inclusive discussion on the human rights dimensions of HIV in the face of such harassment,” said Danilo da Silva, co-chair of Pan-African ILGA, a federation gathering over 40 lesbian and gay groups from all parts of Africa. “We expect more from a leading country like Senegal.” ##.

International News: Jamaica: Shield Gays from Mob Attacks

Jamaica: Shield Gays from Mob Attacks Widespread Homophobic Violence Shows Failure of Police Protection (New York, February 1, 2008) – A homophobic mob attack in Jamaica that left one man severely injured and another missing and feared dead shows yet again that authorities must take urgent action against violence and hatred, Human Rights Watch said today. This incident is the latest in a string of homophobic mob violence over the last year, including an attack on mourners in a church. “Roving mobs attacking innocent people and staining the streets with blood should shame the nation’s leaders,” said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “Gays and lesbians in Jamaica face violence at home, in public, even in a house of worship, and official silence encourages the spread of hate.” On the evening of January 29, a group of men approached a house where four males lived in the central Jamaican town of Mandeville, and demanded that they leave the community because they were gay, according to human rights defenders who spoke with the victims. Later that evening, a mob returned and surrounded the house. The four men inside called the police when they saw the crowd gathering; the mob started to attack the house, shouting and throwing bottles. Those in the house called police again and were told that the police were on the way. Approximately half an hour later, 15-20 men broke down the door and began beating and slashing the inhabitants. Human rights defenders who spoke to the victims also reported that police arrived half an hour after the mob had broken into the house – 90 minutes after the men first called for help. One of the victims managed to flee with the mob pursuing. A Jamaican newspaper reported that blood was found at the mouth of a nearby pit, suggesting he had fallen inside or may have been killed nearby. The police escorted the three other victims away from the scene; two of them were taken to the hospital. One of the men had his left ear severed, his arm broken in two places, and his spine reportedly damaged. The attack on these men echoes another incident in the same town on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007. Approximately 100 men gathered outside a church where 150 people were attending the funeral of a gay man. According to mourners, the crowd broke the windows with bottles and shouted, “We want no battyman [gay] funeral here. Leave or else we’re going to kill you. We don’t want no battyman buried here in Mandeville.” Several mourners inside the church called the police to request protection. After half an hour, three police officers arrived. But instead of protecting the mourners, police socialized with the mob, laughing along at the situation. A highway patrol car subsequently arrived, and one of the highway patrol officers reportedly told the churchgoers, “It’s full time this needs to happen. Enough of you guys.” The highway patrol officers then drove off. The remaining officers at the scene refused to intervene when the mob threatened the mourners with sticks, stones, and batons as they tried to leave the service. Only when several gay men among the mourners took knives from their cars for self-defense did police reportedly take action by firing their guns into the air. Officers stopped gay men from leaving and searched their vehicles, but did not restrain or detain members of the mob. “While Jamaican police have begun to reach out to gay and lesbian communities, this change hasn’t reached many police stations where protection remains an illusion,” said Rebecca Schleifer, advocate on HIV/AIDS and human rights at Human Rights Watch. “These horrifying attacks should galvanize officials to protect all Jamaicans against violence, regardless of who they are.” Two other mob attacks last year reinforced the fears of gay and lesbian Jamaicans. On April 2, 2007, a crowd in Montego Bay attacked three men alleged to be gay who were attending a carnival. The men took to a stage to dance during the revelry, but the mob began throwing bottles and stones at them. Witnesses said the crowd chased the men down the street, slashed one man with knives and beat him with a manhole cover. According to local press reports, at least 30 or 40 people beat another man as he sought refuge in a bar, tearing his clothes from him and striking him as he bled severely from a head wound. In this case, police did intervene in an attempt to protect the men, but were overpowered by the mob. They were able to transport at least one victim to the hospital only after backup forces arrived more than 20 minutes later. On February 14, 2007, a mob in Kingston attacked four men, including the co-chair of t the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (JFLAG). The men took refuge in a store in Tropical Plaza on Constant Spring Road in Kingston, while a crowd of at least 200 people gathered outside, calling for the men to be beaten to death because they were gay. The men called local police, as well as Human Rights Watch. When officers arrived, instead of protecting them, they verbally abused the victims, calling them “nasty battymen,” and struck one in the face, head, and stomach. They took the men to Halfway Tree Police Station in Kingston, but refused to take their complaints and ordered them never to return to the station. In 2007, Human Rights Watch wrote to then-Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller and Peter Phillips, minister of national security, calling for an investigation into all the reported violence, as well as protection of witnesses from threats or reprisals. Human Rights Watch has received no response from the government to any of this correspondence.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/02/01/jamaic17957.htm

Action: AI on Iran

In May 2007, two men were tried and convicted of abduction, rape and theft. They were sentenced to being “thrown at a height” or “cliff” (partab az bolandi) by a judge in Shiraz, Fars province, southern Iran. Four other men, allegedly also involved in the crimes, were ordered to endure 100 lashes each. Both of these punishments have not yet been carried out by the Iranian authorities.

On 2 January 2008, Qods, a national daily newspaper in Iran, reported that the sentences of the two men had been confirmed by the Supreme Court, and sent for implementation, and that four other men had been convicted by Branch 2 of the Fars Criminal Court to 100 lashes each, in connection with the same case. The six men were accused of having abducted two young men in the city of Arsanjan, to the east of Shiraz, whom they harassed and whose property they stole before allegedly raping them.

At a press conference on 15 January, Ali Reza Jamshidi, the Spokesman for the Judiciary in Iran, confirmed that the sentences had been upheld by the Supreme Court, but that they had not yet been carried out. His statement appeared to contradict the Qods article, as it suggested that the Head of the Judiciary may not yet have given final approval for the executions. All death sentences in Iran must be approved by the Head of the Judiciary before they can be carried out. He has the power to suspend the execution.

Iran’s Penal Code states in Article 109 that both men involved in same-sex penetrative (anal) or non-penetrative sex will be punished. Article 110 states that those convicted of engaging in anal sex will be executed and that the manner of execution is at the discretion of the judge. Article 111 states that both will be executed “provided both the active and passive parties are mature, sane and consenting”. There is no separate legislation dealing with rape. Article 14 of the Directive on Implementation Regulations for Sentences of Retribution in kind, Stoning, Murder, Crucifixion, Death Penalty and Flogging states that death may be carried out by hanging, firing squad, electrocution or another method determined by the judge issuing the verdict. If no other method is specified, the method will be hanging. The sentence passed in this case is exceptional in its apparent intent to inflict suffering.

The sentence was condemned by the Centre for Human Rights Defenders, a Tehran-based human rights NGO whose members include Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.

In 2007, at least 312 people, including child offenders, were executed in Iran, although the true figure may be considerably higher. Amnesty International acknowledges the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences but is unconditionally opposed to the use of the death penalty and opposes the use of flogging and other judicial corporal punishments which constitute torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.

Take Action Here

Action: Cameroon Action from Headquarters

Urgent Action: Call for Release of 11 Men and Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Cameroon

January 2008

Eleven men were arrested and detained in Cameroon between 19^th July and 1^st September 2007 because they were suspected of engaging in acts of homosexuality. Sexual relations between two people of the same sex are illegal in Cameroon. The 11 men were arrested in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé where they remain in custody. Amnesty International considers the detainees to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely on account of their presumed sexual orientation, and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release as well as for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Cameroon. The continued detention of the men on this basis contravenes the rights to freedom from discrimination, privacy and freedom of assembly and association, as guaranteed by the international and regional human rights treaties to which Cameroon is a party.

Between 19 and 21 July 2007, police arrested six men at various public places in the city of Douala accusing them of engaging in acts of homosexuality. The arrests followed a woman’s allegations of theft and alleged homosexual acts against her two juvenile cousins. The two were arrested, questioned and later released. After their interrogation by the police, three other men were also arrested on suspicion of having engaged in acts of homosexuality. An additional three men were also arrested for the same reasons.

On 25 July 2007, the 6 men were transferred to Douala’s central prison. In addition to charges of homosexuality men were also accused of committing “sodomy” and “corrupting youth” in violation of the provisions of sections 344, 346 and 347 of the Cameroonian Penal code. One of the detainees was also accused of committing an indecent assault with a 16-year-old boy.

On 16 August 2007, two men were arrested in Yaoundé. According to sources, it was close to 4 am when the police broke down the door of the room where the men were sleeping. The policemen asked them to remove their clothes before telling them they were being arrested because they had been caught having sex. Their case was transferred to the Attorney General on 20 August 2007. According to their lawyer, the men were subjected to anal examinations to determine if they had engaged in sexual acts.

On 30 August 2007, at around 5:45 AM, three men were arrested by a police patrol in Douala. The men were found fighting over a TV set and a DVD player. According to the police report one of the accused had solicited sex from the other two men in exchange of 25,000CFA (equivalent of US$ 50) and a fight began after a dispute over the payment. The three men were charged with same-sex sexual relations by the Attorney General at the Douala Public Prosecutor’s Department. They appeared at Douala 1st Instance Tribunal on 7 November 2007, on 2 January and on 8 January 2008 and pleaded not guilty. On 9 January 2008, the Tribunal convicted and sentenced the three men to 6 months imprisonment with hard labor and fines ranging from US $54 to US $100.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals in French, English or your own language:

• expressing concern for the eleven detainees on trial in the capital, Yaoundé, on charges of practising homosexuality;
• stating that Amnesty International believes that they are prisoners of conscience, detained solely because of their alleged sexual orientation;
• asking the authorities to order an immediate halt to the trial of these detainees on charges based on their suspected or known sexual orientation;
• urging the authorities to release the detainees immediately and unconditionally and to respect their right to freedom of association in accordance with international human rights treaties, such as the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and under the African Convention for Human and People’s Rights, to which Cameroon is a party;
• calling on the authorities to ensure that the detainees are not subjected to anal examinations or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;
• calling on the authorities to ensure that the detainees are allowed access to their families, lawyers and any medical attention they may require.

ADDRESS APPEALS TO:

Minister of Justice

Mr Amadou Ali

Deputy Prime Minister

Minister of Justice

Yaoundé

Cameroon

Salutation: Dear vice-Prime Minister/ Monsieur

le Vice-Premier Ministre

WITH COPIES TO :

Minister of Interior

Mr Marafa Hamidou Yaya

Minister of Territorial Administration Decentralization

Ministry of Territorial Administration Decentralization

Yaoundé

Cameroon

Salutation: Dear Minister/Monsieur le Ministre

Director of Kondengi prison

Monsieur le Directeur

Prison Centrale de Kondengui,

BP 100, Yaoundé- Province Centrale.

Cameroon

…and to diplomatic representatives of Cameroon in your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your Amnesty International section office, if sending appeals after 31 March 2008.

News: Seattle Times Reporting State's gay caucus is 2nd-largest in U.S.

State's gay caucus is 2nd-largest in U.S.

By RACHEL LA CORTE
The Associated Press

OLYMPIA — The Washington Legislature has the second-largest gay caucus in the country after a new representative was appointed to the House this year.

Marko Liias, a 26-year-old Democrat from Mukilteo, started the legislative session earlier this month, replacing former Rep. Brian Sullivan, who left the Legislature for the Snohomish County Council.

Liias' arrival gives Washington six openly gay lawmakers, ahead of California's five, but still one shy of the seven gay lawmakers in New Hampshire.

That gives Washington state the second-largest Capitol gay caucus, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based political action committee.

Read the full story here.

News: Time.Com reporting France Overruled on Gay Adoption

By Bruce Crumley

The European Court of Human Rights overturned French court rulings that
prevented a single lesbian woman from adopting a child; the move opens the
way for legal challenges in other European states, but does not oblige all
countries to allow gay adoption.

Thursday 01.24.08
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1706514,00.html


Social and political conservatives have tended to be more cautious European
enthusiasts than their leftist peers. This week provided another example
why that’s the case. In a decision setting precedence not just across the
27-nation European Union, but indeed throughout the entire 47-member
Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights overturned French
court rulings that prevented a single lesbian woman from adopting a child.
The move, gay and lesbian groups say opens the way for legal challenges in
other European states with adoption laws similar to those of France — yet
falls well short of a blanket ruling that would oblige all countries to
allow adoption by homosexuals.


In a 10-7 vote, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Strasbourg
Tuesday that a plaintiff identified only as Emmanuelle B. had been the
victim of illegal discrimination when successive French authorities denied
her request to adopt a child in 1998. The court faulted French criticism
over “the lack of a paternal referent in the household”, and elsewhere said
the woman’s homosexuality had been “if not explicit, at least implicit” in
France’s rejection of her adoption request. The Court judged France had
violated the European Convention on Human Rights — to which France and the
other 46 Council of Europe members are signatories — based on its refusal
to allow a single lesbian adopt in a manner it allows straight singles to.


“French law allowed single parents to adopt a child, thereby opening up the
possibility for adoption by a single homosexual,” the judgment found. In
addition to opening the way for the 45 year-old nursery school teacher, who
has lived with her female partner for nearly 20 years, to see through her
desire to adopt, the Court also ordered France to pay Emmanuelle B. $14,600
in damages, and $21,210 in legal costs.


Gay rights organizations in France and across Europe hailed the ruling for
taking on one of the main kinds of discrimination homosexuals continue to
face. Some conservatives, however, were as equally outspoken in the
condemnation of the decision. Michèle Tabarot, a parliamentarian for the
ruling conservative Movement for a Popular Majority Party and the president
of France’s Superior Council on Adoption, reacted with charges “the judges
are over-stepping their role by going beyond what the law says, and by
imposing their conception” of justice. Tabarot also noted that if French
rules allowing singles to adopt children as a means of increasing the
number of potential homes for orphans, they weren’t intended to alter
official French views on gay parenting. “In France the parliament never
sought to open adoption to homosexuals,” she noted.


Indeed, Tuesday’s ruling, in many ways, represents a back door to equal
treatment starkly contrasting the more traditional attitudes and laws
prevalent in most of Europe. Franck Tanguy, spokesman for France’s
Association of Gay and Lesbian Parents, confirms “this ruling is a step in
the right direction”, in that it “requires countries that, like France,
allow singles to adopt children to treat unmarried homosexual and
heterosexual applicants in exactly the same manner.” Failure to do so in
any country with such legislation, Tanguy says, means they’d “find
themselves condemned again and again for discrimination by the many single
homosexuals who’d use this precedent to base a legal defense on”. However,
Tanguy regrets the ruling “won’t change anything in countries that don’t
allow any singles to adopt, nor force nations that don’t allow homosexual
couples to adopt to change their laws”.


There are currently nine European countries that permit gay and lesbian
couples to adopt children: Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Iceland,
Norway, the Netherlands, the U.K., and Sweden. Though a boon for single
homosexuals seeking to adopt children where unwed heterosexuals are allowed
to do so, Tanguy says Tuesday’s ruling may cause countries considering
allowing adoption by non-married straight couples to shelve such plans in
order to maintain the prohibition for gays and lesbians.

Action: 11 Men Arrested for Homosexual Conduct in Cameroon

FRESH OUT OF AIUSA:
Eleven men were arrested and detained in Cameroon between 19 July and 1st September 2007 allegedly because they were suspected of engaging in acts of homosexuality. Sexual relations between men are illegal in Cameroon. The 11 men were arrested in various places in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé and remain in custody at Douala’s New Bell central prison and Yaoundé’s Kondengui central prison. Amnesty International considers the detainees to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely on account of their presumed sexual orientation, and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

Amnesty International USA is relying on people like me and you to spread the word and take action on this case. It literally takes less than two minutes and is sure to make a difference. Countries like Cameroon often fold to international pressure so the more letters and e mails they receive will be the difference between freedom or unjust imprisonment for these 11 men.

Visit this link to take action: link

In Solidarity,
Eleazar

News: Gay and Lesbian Medical Association: Press Release on MRSA Infection

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 2008

CONTACT: Joel Ginsberg | jginsberg@glma.org | 415-255-4547 x314

GAY AND LESBIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION STATEMENT ON
MULTI-DRUG-RESISTANT MRSA BACTERIA STRAIN

SAN FRANCISCO – There has been widespread media coverage recently about a drug-resistant strain of MRSA bacteria, known as USA300, found in gay men in San Francisco and Boston. The findings were reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Unfortunately, some of the media stories have made claims not fully supported by the research or have stigmatized gay men by distinguishing them from “the general population.” Further, some right wing groups and commentators have seized upon this story as an opportunity to spread misinformation about homosexuality.

Epidemiological research documenting the spread of this strain was posted in an online article on the Annals of Internal Medicine website. The strains of MRSA described in the article have mostly been identified in certain gay men in only two geographic regions and specific sexual behaviors were not assessed, so no conclusions can be drawn about the prevalence of these strains among all gay men or about the association of the infection with specific male-male sexual practices.

While the infection may be linked to intimate contact, the infection can also be spread by skin-to-skin contact and by sharing towels and other personal items. The CDC states that there “is no evidence at this time to suggest that MRSA is a sexually-transmitted infection in the classical sense.”

MRSA infection can be a serious matter, but if recognized early, the infection can be treated effectively. The CDC recommends the following to prevent the spread of MRSA:

1. Cover your wound. Keep wounds that are draining or have pus covered with clean, dry bandages. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions on proper care of the wound. Pus from infected wounds can contain staph and MRSA, so keeping wounds covered will help prevent the spread to others. Bandages or tape can be discarded with the regular trash.

2. Clean your hands. You, your family, and others in close contact should wash their hands frequently with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after changing the bandage or touching the infected wounds.

3. Do not share personal items. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, washcloths, razors, clothing, or uniforms that may have had contact with infected wounds or bandages. Wash sheets, towels, and clothes that become soiled with water and laundry detergent. Drying clothes in a hot dryer, rather than air-drying, also helps kill bacteria in clothes.

4. Talk to your doctor. Tell any healthcare providers who treat you that you have or had a staph or MRSA skin infection.

To read the CDC’s statement about this issue, go to http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2008/t080116.htm.

The mission of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association is to ensure equality in healthcare for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and healthcare professionals. More information is available at www.glma.org.

News: Kuwait Arresting people who “imitate the appearance of the opposite sex”

Pink News:
Kuwaitis arrested for "impersonating opposite sex"
18th January 2008 11:10
Tony Grew
A leading human rights charity has drawn attention to the plight of more than a dozen people arrested and jailed under new "dress code" laws in Kuwait.

Human Rights Watch has called for them to be released.

The law was approved by the National Assembly on December 10th 2007. It criminalises people who "imitate the appearance of the opposite sex."

"The wave of arrests in the past month shows exactly why Kuwait should repeal this repressive law," said Joe Stork, deputy director of the Middle East division at HRW.

"Kuwaiti authorities should immediately drop all charges against those arrested, and investigate charges of ill-treatment in detention."

Security officials have arrested at least 14 people in Kuwait City since the National Assembly approved an addition (Article 199 bis) to Article 198 of the Criminal Code.

The amendment states that "any person committing an indecent act in a public place, or imitating the appearance of a member of
the opposite sex, shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding one year or a fine."

The only known targets of the new Kuwaiti law have been transgender people.

Kuwait allows transgender people neither to change their legal identity to match the gender in which they live, nor to adapt their physical appearance through gender reassignment surgery.

The new law, coming after months of controversy, aims at further restricting their rights and completely eliminating their public presence.

In September 2007, the newspaper Al Arabiya reported a new government campaign to "combat the growing phenomenon of gays and transsexuals" in Kuwait.

Human Rights Watch:
Kuwait: Repressive Dress-Code Law Encourages Police Abuse
Arrests Target Transgender People

(New York, January 17, 2008) – Authorities should immediately release more than a dozen persons jailed under Kuwait’s new dress-code law, Human Rights Watch said today. The law, approved by the National Assembly on December 10, 2007, criminalizes people who “imitate the appearance of the opposite sex.” Read full story here

Pink News: Cameroon men get six months jail for being gay

16th January 2008 18:35
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer

Three men have been sentenced to six month hard labour for being homosexual.
The men were arrested in Bonapriso, Douala, on August 31st 2007 by police officers making random arrests in search of armed robbers.
After being beaten at the police station, one of the men confessed to being homosexual and implicated his two colleagues.
"As soon as the shadow of homosexuality enters into a case due process goes out of the window," commented International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Campaign Programme Associate Joel Nana, who has been monitoring the cases.
The three men's lawyer said she would appeal the convictions and none of the men had been found guilty of homosexual acts.
Article 347 of the country's penal code prohibits consensual same-sex relationships. The men have been held in jail since August.
People currently detained on grounds of homosexuality all have cases riddled with irregularities and have been subject to procedures that are inconsistent with the new Cameroonian code of penal procedure.
After arrest, alleged homosexuals are detained for investigation for longer time periods that the law prescribes.
If they are lucky enough to find a lawyer, then they undergo an endless number of trials.
"This is a tactic that the court frequently uses in the cases of gay men and lesbians," said Sebastien Mandeng, human rights researcher at Alternatives-Cameroon, the national LGBT organisation.
"They needlessly prolong the process with no legal justification in order to unofficially punish and imprison the accused."
More than 30 people have been arrested in Cameroon in the last two years on charges of homosexuality, despite an October 2006 ruling by the United Nations that such arrests to be arbitrary and unfair.
Dozens of students, particularly girls and young women, have been expelled from schools as result of their real or perceived sexual orientation.
Alternatives-Cameroun has documented the cases of more than 13 other men currently being detained in Cameroon under Article 347.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared that detention on the basis of sexual orientation in Cameroon constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty contrary to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The UN human rights body called on the government of Cameroon to adopt necessary measures to remedy the situation, including the possible repeal of Article 347.
The human rights groups Alternatives-Cameroun, Amnesty International, IGLHRC, Les Pantheres Rose, and OUT are calling for the repeal of Article 347, the release of all individuals detained under this law, and an end to official discrimination based on sexual orientation in Cameroon.

Yogyakarta Update: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and The UN Launch Human Rights Principles That Address Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

U.N Launch of the Yogyakarta Principles in NYC
Brazil advances in the international fight for LGBT rights
12/11/2007

Following Brazil’s formal submission of a Resolution on Human Rights and Sexual Orientation to the UNO Human Rights Council in 2003, an international coalition of LGBT and Human Rights organizations was formed to provide support to this initiative.

Despite Brazil having withdrawn the Resolution in 2005 owing to pressure on its economic agenda and insufficient support from the voting member states on the Council, many actions have continued to be undertaken aimed at gaining force in Latin America by involving other countries from the Region.

At the same time, actions of a more global nature have been developed by means of networking. Among them are the Principles of Yogyakarta, an important resource regarding the application of international human rights legislation to issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity

On November 7th, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Brazilian government together with the Argentine and Uruguayan governments and the following non-governmental organizations: ARC-International; Center for Women’s Global Leadership; Global Rights; Human Rights Watch; International Commission of Jurists; International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission; ILGA - International Lesbian and Gay Association and the International Service for Human Rights launched the Principles as part of an important action coordinated by civil society in partnership with the governments of the global south.

ABGLT – The Brazilian Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Association, through its LGBT Rights in the Mercosul project, coordinated by Alexandre Boer (SOMOS/Porto Alegre) and Beto de Jesus (IEN/São Paulo), representative of ILGA – International Lesbian and Gay Association for Latin America and the Caribbean, have articulated the Brazilian government’s support for this initiative, in addition to obtaining the support of the President’s Office Special Department for Human Rights to publish the Principles of Yogyakarta in Portuguese for national distribution. In partnership with Sonia Correa from the NGO ABIA and Sexuality Policy Watch, who was co-chair of the meeting in Indonesia, the Principles have been launched in the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro, Nova Iguaçu, Porto Alegre and São Paulo, with the participation of local NGOs.

According to Beto de Jesus, “the initiative by the Brazilian Government to provide support is the fruit of the discussion on the Principles of Yogyakarta begun in the IX Meeting of High-level Authorities on Human Rights in the Mercosul and Associated States held in Montevideo in August, and also ABGLT’s consolidated work with the various levels of the Brazilian government”.

Boris Dittrich, HRW’s Director of Advocacy, visited Brazil and the end of August and made arrangements with the Brazilian government to consolidate the launching of the Principles in New York with the support of ABGLT and ILGA.

Toni Reis, AGBLT’s president, said “we have reached a very important moment, since ABGLT, as well as being active in Brazil, is taking on an important role internationally in the southern bloc of countries”.

Beto de Jesus is in New York this week for the launch of the Principles of Yogyakarta and also to articulate with Brazil’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations regarding strategies for the next meeting of UNO’s NGO Committee, when ABGLT’s application for ECOSOC consultative status will be analysed. With this status, ABGLT will have the right to speak in its own name when participating in UNO activities.

Contacts:
Beto de Jesus (11) 8452-3335 betojesus@uol.com.br
Toni Reis (41) 9602-8906 presidencia@abglt.org.br

News: Bad News from Morocco

Morocco court upholds jail for 6 for homosexual acts
Tue 15 Jan 2008, 21:00 GMT

RABAT, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A Moroccan appeal court on Tuesday upheld the convictions of six men jailed for homosexual acts after video images of a man dressed as a woman dancing at a party sparked street protests and a police investigation, lawyers said.

The six were arrested in late November after rumours spread that a party they had held in the northern town of Ksar el Kebir was really an illegal gay wedding.

The national press pounced on the story, and Islamist groups condemned what they saw as an attack on public morals and demanded an official investigation.

Hundreds of angry residents marched through Ksar el Kebir to demand "justice" and put pressure on the authorities to hand out harsh sentences.

The six men were found guilty and given jail sentences by a lower court last month. They had all pleaded not guilty.

The appeal court upheld a 10-month sentence against the party's alleged organiser, identified as F., for homosexuality and the illegal sale of alcohol, defence lawyer Mohamed Sebbar said.

The five others had their jail terms cut to between two and four months from between four and six months, he said. All six had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"It's a very severe judgment because this case is empty," said Sebbar. "There is no proof that these men practised homosexuality in the affair of Ksar el Kebir."

"Lewd or unnatural acts" between people of the same sex are crimes under Moroccan law and those found guilty face between six months and three years in jail and a fine of up to 1,000 Moroccan dirhams ($130).

Amnesty International said it considered the men to be prisoners of conscience and called for their immediate release.

"We're also concerned for their safety," said Amnesty's Benedicte Goderiaux. "Some of them should get out of prison within about 15 days -- what will happen to them after all the public threats against them?"

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