The Central American Republic of Panama has decriminalised homosexual acts, following a series of protests by Human Rights groups. Panama's President Martín Torrijos and Minister of Health Rosario Turner say they welcomed written complaints from 'the Association of New Men of Panama', who said that the country's heath code - which criminalised sodomy - promoted discrimination. Panama, which connects the north and south parts of Amercia, was the only country left in Latin America where male-to-male sex was a criminal offence. There are still 85 countries in the world where consensual same-sex activity is banned.