The State Department report on human rights
details anti-gay abuses around the world. The nations with the most
egregious records are highlighted here.
Some critics said the United States should improve its
own record regarding anti-gay discrimination. In the U.S., it is legal under
federal law to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender
identity in employment. Sodomy was criminalized in some states until 2003.
President Bush has repeatedly called for a constitutional amendment banning
same-sex marriage and similar bans have already passed in numerous states.
1.) Uganda: Last July, the government of
Uganda approved a constitutional amendment banning equal marriage rights for
gays. Consensual homosexual sex can be punished by life in prison.
2.) Iran: People with HIV face
discrimination in employment and at school. Intercourse between two men is
punishable by death and homosexual acts that do not involve intercourse are
punishable by 100 lashes. Two young men, at least one a minor, were executed
in Mashad in July, some claim, for being gay. Two more men were executed for
being gay last November.
3.) Egypt: While Egyptian officials claims
that homosexuality is not illegal, Human Rights Watch says that it is.
Egyptian law prohibits fujur, which courts have interpreted to mean
"homosexual relations between men." Rights groups have documented
hundreds of cases in which gay men were arrested and tortured. Men are
subjected to abusive anal examinations.
4.) Saudi Arabia: Some gays who are
convicted of homosexuality are flogged with 2,000 lashings, according to
Ariel Herrera of Amnesty International’s OUTFront program. Gay men have
been beheaded in public squares for the crime of consensual homosexual sex.
5.) Nigeria: Homosexuality is outlawed in
the Nigerian penal code and Muslim law. However, in northern states under
Muslim law the punishment can be death; in the civil penal code
homosexuality can carry up to a 14-year prison sentence. The numbers of
people arrested and sentenced for sodomy are unknown. A new law forbids
same-sex marriage and prohibits gays from assembling and petitioning the
government. It also allows prosecution of newspapers that publish
information about same-sex relationships and religious groups that allow
same-sex unions. Those who violate the law can be sentenced to five years in
prison.
6.) United Arab Emirates: Civil and Muslim
law criminalize homosexuality in the UAE. Last November, 26 gay men were
arrested and reportedly given hormone treatments and therapy.
7.) Cameroon: Last May, 17 men were
arrested for homosexuality. Twelve were charged and detained. The suspects
were given a "medical examination" to find evidence of homosexual
conduct, the State Department reported, citing IGLHRC as the source of the
information.
8.) Poland: "Right wing groups
attempted on several occasions to disrupt Gay Pride marches," states
the report. In 2005 Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski, who is now Poland’s
president, denied Gay Pride groups the right to march because he "would
not allow the promotion of gay culture," the report states. However the
marchers assembled anyway and spoke about discrimination they faced.
9.) Nepal: While homosexuality is not
criminalized, government authorities harass and abuse gays and transgender
people. In April, police attacked 18 transgender women who were on their way
to a festival.
10.) India: Violation of India’s sodomy
law is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The sodomy law is often used
to harass and detain AIDS prevention workers and gays.
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