The majority of the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, formerly known as the British Commonwealth, still criminalise sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex and other forms of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Homosexual activity remains a criminal offence in 31 of the 56 sovereign states of the Commonwealth; and legal in only 25.
This has been described as being the result of "the major historical influence" or legacy of the British Empire. In most cases, it was former colonial administrators that established anti-gay legislation or sodomy acts during the 19th century and even earlier. The majority of countries have retained these laws following independence. Due to the common origin of historical penal codes in many former British colonies, the prohibition of homosexual acts, specifically anal sex between men, is provided for in Section 377 in the penal codes of 42 former British colonies, many of whom are today members of the Commonwealth.
The penalties for private, consensual sexual conduct between same sex adults remain harsh in a number of Commonwealth countries. They include 10 years' imprisonment and hard labour in Jamaica, 14 years in Kenya, and 20 years plus flogging in Malaysia. A cluster of member states have a maximum sentence of life imprisonment: Bangladesh, Guyana, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda. Meanwhile, Brunei and Northern Nigeria have a maximum penalty for male homosexuality of death. In some countries such as Cameroon, arrests and imprisonment for acts that indicate homosexuality are frequently reported. In Uganda and Nigeria, recent legislative proposals would significantly increase the penalties for homosexuality.
Overview
Homosexual activity remains a criminal offence in 34 (see below) of the 54 sovereign states of the Commonwealth and legal in only 19 (see below).
However, developments in the area of employment discrimination suggests some progress is being made, with member states such as the Seychelles (2006), Fiji (2007), Mozambique (2007), Mauritius (2008) and Botswana (2010) introducing legislation against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. In November 2012, Malawi's President Joyce Banda suspended all laws that criminalised homosexuality.
A report produced in November 2015 by the Human Dignity Trust in association with the Commonwealth Lawyers' Association claims that countries that continue to criminalize same-sex relationships were worsening the impacts of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The report estimates that some 2.9 billion people live in Commonwealth countries where consensual homosexuality is punishable, and approximately 174 million living there may identify as LGBT. It found that:
Discussions at Commonwealth level
Interventions by Secretaries-General
In July 2011 it was reported that the Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, had spoken out against discrimination towards people who were gay or lesbian while on a visit to Australia, arguing that “vilification and targeting on grounds of sexual orientation are at odds with the values of the Commonwealth”. This was the first time that such a senior Commonwealth figure had spoken publicly on the issue. Sharma re-emphasised the point in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting:Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland, who took office on 1 April 2016, committed herself to using the first two years of her tenure to promote decriminalization of homosexuality in the Commonwealth countries that list homosexual behaviour as a crime. However, she has suggested that the way forward needs to be built through establishing consensus:
Perth Commonwealth Conference
The British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell and the South Australian Labor MLC Ian Hunter called for LGBT rights to be put on the agenda of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Perth at the end of October 2011.