Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) welcomes the decision by the High-Court of Justice in Antigua and Barbuda to declare laws that criminalize consensual, private sexual acts between persons above the age of consent, unconstitutional.
On July 5th, The Honorable Justice Marissa Robertson held that sections 12 and 15 of the Sexual Offences Act (1995), known as the buggery and serious indecency offences, contravene the constitutionally guaranteed rights to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex. Therefore, the Court affirmed and deemed unconstitutional that certain laws criminalize consensual, private acts between persons of the age of consent, regardless of gender.
Although such laws have now been voided for cases of persons above the age of consent who engage consensually and in private acts as described, the offences of buggery and serious indecency remain a crime and laws remain in force in cases where sexual acts are not consensual or involve minors below the age of consent.
Reacting to this important development, PGA Member Senator Aziza Lake (Antigua and Barbuda) noted:
I wholeheartedly agree with the recent ruling in the High Court of Antigua & Barbuda that essentially struck out certain buggery provisions in the Sexual Offences Act 1995. I have long advocated for the removal of provisions that criminalized anal sex in Antigua & Barbuda amongst consenting adults. This is not only a victory for the LGBTQI+ community but for heterosexual adult couples, as well, as it was previously illegal for them to engage in the act.
I look forward to more decisions from our judiciary that address equal rights, legislation and the constitution. Yesterday’s ruling exemplifies how the different arms of our government have a role to play in upholding the rights of citizens.
PGA Board Member Senator Boris Dittrich (The Netherlands) added:
This is great news as love between consenting adults should never be criminalized. Human rights for LGBT people should be respected like the rights for all consenting adults. I urge other governments in the Caribbean region like Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados to follow suit and decriminalize same-sex behavior between consenting adults.
PGA Board Member Hon. Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House of Representatives (Belize) declared:
This victory for Antigua and Barbuda is a critical step for human rights and towards equality. The decision by the High Court of Justice declaring laws that criminalized consensual, private sexual acts between persons above the age of consent to be unconstitutional, is a wonderful development.
Antigua and Barbuda joins Belize, which decriminalized same sex in 2016, and Trinidad and Tobago’s High Court decision in 2018. In 2020, Barbados adopted an Employment (Prevention of Discrimination) Act that includes protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation. With this ruling in Antigua and Barbuda last week, we are hopeful it will serve as an inspiration to the wider Caribbean and the world. Human Rights are for all of us and not just some of us. This is very encouraging news coming out from the Caribbean.
Chair of the PGA Mozambique National Group, Hon. Antonio Rosario Niquice, PhD, welcomed the repeal and underscored:
As a longstanding member of PGA, I congratulate the High Court of Justice in Antigua and Barbuda on the repeal of anti-LGBTQI+ laws. Moreover, and as similarly done in Mozambique in 2015 with the introduction of a new penal code with provisions also decriminalizing homosexuality, I believe that the criminalization of people or their actions, based on their sexual orientation goes against all international and regional human rights treaties. May the repeal of these laws, not only set a new wave of changes to the actual political, economic and social reality in Antigua and Barbuda, but also echo around the Caribbean region, motivating further changes and progress for LGBTQI+ related issues.
Through such changes, Antigua and Barbuda makes a strong statement and reinforces the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. As I declared to fellow parliamentarians at an African Parliamentary Forum on Sexual and Gender Minorities, in Johannesburg, South Africa last month, such actions serve to spread and reinforce the message that it is the duty of all nations to secure and provide human rights to all our peoples.
Since its launch in 2013, PGA’s Campaign against Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) has mobilized parliamentarians as human rights champions, taking action to guarantee that every individual has equal value, lives with dignity and is able to achieve their highest potential free from all forms of violence and discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). The Campaign has played an instrumental role in engaging Caribbean parliamentarians and sensitizing them about their role in guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination based on SOGIESC.
PGA’s SOGI Campaign is working closely with the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE) to facilitate meaning interactions and collaboration between LGBTQI+ civil society representatives and parliamentarians in the region. ECADE is leading five cases, including in Antigua and Barbuda, challenging the constitutionality of these Acts in the Eastern Caribbean.More information on the background of this case can also be found here.
