Thu 3 Mar 2016 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
The Seychelles are pushing towards legalising homosexuality, with politicians agreeing to remove legislation that punishes sex between men by up to 14 years in prison. The island, with a population of 93,000 people, will soon be in line with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which requires protection against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. It is believed the Colonial-era homosexuality legislation will be overturned by the end of this year. In 2011 politicians in the country said they were committed to reviewing the laws surround sex between men but until now this review had not been undertaken. Attorney General Ronny Govinden says; “It is a priority for the country because whenever the Seychelles is participating in an international convention… we face pressures from other countries who are asking us to remove this law. “This is a simple amendment to the penal Code which can be done by the National Assembly and this avoids conflict. “This amendment will just decriminalise homosexuality in Seychelles.” The Seychelles government claim that no person has ever been directly prosecuted under the current law.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 3rd March 2016 - 11:52am