Human rights groups and LGBTI rights organizations from the seven countries of North Africa have joined forces today to seek recognition for the human rights of LGBTI people on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT). Continue reading
Public recognition of the human rights of LGBTI people remains rare in the many Middle Eastern and North African countries that still have laws against same-sex intimacy. In most of those countries, even advocacy of those rights is unusual. Such advocacy is mostly underground, online or abroad for Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco, Syria … Continue reading
News briefs about countries with anti-gay laws, excerpted from the Equal Eyes recap of the world’s LGBTI-related news: ASIA In Pakistan, friends are mourning the assassination of Sabeen Mahmud, a prominent human rights activist. … Mahmud was the director of ‘The Second Floor’ (T2F) – a space that hosted many conversations and events for marginalized … Continue reading
An insightful commentary in the pan-African publication Mail & Guardian Africa notes not only that African countries are far from united in their attitudes toward homosexuality, but also that many individual countries have self-contradictory laws. An excerpt from the article “Forgive it. Africa is not anti-gay; the continent is just hopelessly confused”: In Cote d’Ivoire, … Continue reading
The issue of African countries imprisoning LGBTI people for their sexual orientation wasn’t on the agenda at this week’s United States/Africa summit in Washington, D.C. Instead, President Obama spoke about security, trade and economic development. Then, on Aug. 5, he and First Lady Michelle Obama posed for friendly photos with 32 leaders of countries with … Continue reading
This is a rough translation of an article published last month in the newspaper Estado of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which gives a sense of the degree of public awareness of LGBT rights issues there. The account is generally accurate, though the descriptions of the proposals in Uganda, Nigeria and probably Libya are inexact. The quotes … Continue reading
An Islamist militia has released 12 allegedly gay men whom it arrested last week, the Libya Herald reports. Their release was unexpected, since a previous article had stated that the men would be turned over to the Ministry of Justice. The latest article stated: The Nawasi brigade has released 12 men arrested at a birthday … Continue reading
Twelve allegedly gay men arrested by a Libyan militia reportedly will be turned over to the Libyan Ministry of Justice, according to an article today in the Libya Herald. They reportedly face charges of disturbing the peace, not of homosexual activity, which could have resulted in prison sentences of up to five years under Libyan … Continue reading
