36 Commonwealth nations still have anti-LGBTI laws

Map shows members of the Commonwealth of Nations, including those with anti-homosexuality laws and those that have repealed them. (Map courtesy of Wikipedia)

Map shows members of the Commonwealth, including nations with anti-homosexuality laws and those that have repealed them. (Map courtesy of Wikipedia)

Among the 52 nations in the Commonwealth of countries that formerly belonged to the British Empire, the following 36 still have anti-homosexuality laws, which first were imposed by the British. Worldwide, 77+ countries have anti-homosexuality laws.

The Commonwealth total was 39 countries with anti-LGBT laws until 2016. In May 2016, Seychelles repealed its anti-gay law. In  August 2016,  the Supreme Court in Belize overturned that nation’s anti-sodomy law as applied to consensual sex. Maldives retained its anti-gay law, but left the Commonwealth in October 2016.

The following list includes links to this blog’s coverage of them.

Africa

  1. Botswana
  2. Cameroon
  3. Ghana
  4. Kenya
  5. Malawi (enforcement of law suspended)
  6. Namibia
  7. Nigeria
  8. Sierra Leone
  9. Swaziland
  10. Tanzania
  11. Uganda
  12. Zambia

Lesotho was formerly on the list, but it has adopted a new Penal Code that apparently eliminates the nation’s former common-law crime of sodomy.

Asia

  1. Bangladesh
  2. Brunei
  3. India
  4. Malaysia
  5. Pakistan
  6. Singapore
  7. Sri Lanka

Americas

  1. Antigua & Barbuda
  2. Barbados
  3. Dominica (But see “Dominica leader: No enforcement of anti-gay law.”)
  4. Grenada
  5. Guyana
  6. Jamaica
  7. St Kitts & Nevis
  8. St Lucia
  9. St Vincent & the Grenadines
  10. Trinidad & Tobago

Oceania

  1. Kirbati
  2. Nauru
  3. Papua New Guinea
  4. Samoa
  5. Solomon Islands
  6. Tonga
  7. Tuvalu

Former members of the Commonwealth

These nations — formerly part of the British Empire — have maintained anti-homosexuality laws but have withdrawn from the Commonwealth:

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