LGBT Situation in Mauritius

Mauritius lies to the east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It is a populous island of just under 1.3 million people. In recent decades it has become a popular tourist destination for South African and European holiday makers.

Homosexuality is still illegal in Mauritius. Its laws are still informed by old colonial sodomy laws. Here is a summary of the LGBT situation on the island.

Law that Criminalises Homosexuality Criminal Code Cap 195 – 29 December 1838 Amended 25/01; 30/01; 5/02; 12/03; 22/03; 30/03; 34/05; 24/06[1] Section 249 criminalises rape, attempt upon chastity and illegal sexual intercourse.  Any person who is guilty of the crime of rape, shall be liable to penal servitude for a term which shall not be less than 5 years.  And any person, who commits an indecent act [‘attentat à la pudeur’] by force or without consent upon a person of either sex, shall be liable to penal servitude for a term not exceeding 5 years. Section 250 criminalises sodomy and bestiality, finding that any person who is guilty of the crime shall be liable to penal servitude for a term not exceeding 5 years.

Practical Consequences of the law Popular tourist destination for western holiday makers- cultural clashes.

Constitutional Clause on Equality or Right to Privacy Constitution of Mauritius 1968[2] Article 3 guarantees fundamental freedoms without discrimination by reason of race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed or sex, but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest.  Rights protected include  the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and the protection of the law; freedom of conscience, expression, of assembly and association; and freedom to establish schools; protection for the privacy of the home and other property Article 9 reaffirms the right to the privacy of the home and right not to be searched on his premises, subject to interests of defence, public safety, public order and public morality.

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Ghana Steps Down From UN Human Rights Council - Will Anyone Notice?

Friday the 17^th of June marked the end of the seventeenth session of the UN Human Rights Council - the last session of Ghana's five-year membership. When the Council reconvenes this September, will anyone notice Ghana's absence? Not likely.

Considered to be a leading African voice in the promotion of human rights, Ghana was elected to the Council with high expectations. Unfortunately, as its tenure at the Council ends, Ghana has neither lived up to its reputation nor the expectations. Ghana's record at the Council in the latter half of its term has been characterised by sporadic participation, occasionally negative voting practices and, most disappointingly to human rights advocates, a complete failure to be a leader at the Council.

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) recently released the third report in its Easier Said Than Done series. The report compared pre-election pledges made by Commonwealth countries at the Human Rights Council, with each country's actual performance at the UN and domestic levels. The report found that, despite written commitments from Ghana in 2008 that, if re-elected, it would participate actively in the work of the Council, from mid-2008 until mid-2010 Ghana was neither an active participant, nor a positive player.

Over the two-year period reviewed in the report, Ghana rarely participated during Council debates. Whereas its regional neighbour, Nigeria, made frequent interventions on a wide variety of subjects - Ghana's representatives only raised their voices occasionally. For example, during the 12th session, which lasted three weeks, Ghana made a few brief statements of little consequence on international solidarity and migrant rights and congratulated two countries, Comoros and Chad, on their human rights performance. Ghana's lack of participation continued in the period following the 12th session, but spiked somewhat in the 16th session when its representatives became slightly more active.

Despite not regularly being involved in the Council's debates and discussions, Ghana did participate in one of the substantive parts of the Council's work - the voting on resolutions. Ghana's voting record was regrettable. Resolutions at the Council are divided into two categories - those that focus on human rights situations in specific countries and those that focus more broadly on a thematic issue. While there is often disagreement between countries at the Council over the value of particular thematic resolutions, country-specific resolutions are certainly the most controversial. Certain countries vote against nearly every critical country-specific resolution while voting in favour of weak resolutions that deflect attention from their own poor human rights situations and those of allies. In effect, these countries work against the Council's mandate, because resolutions that increase international scrutiny upon rights-abusing regimes are one of the Council's most important tools.

Disappointingly, Ghana occasionally joined these countries in voting in favour of uncritical resolutions on the Democratic Republic of Congo in March 2009 and Sri Lanka in May 2009. Ghana also voted to keep the Sri Lanka resolution weak, by opposing amendments which called for investigations into human rights violations perpetrated during the most recent Sri Lankan war. Ghana further chose to abstain from voting in 2009 on an important resolution to extend the mandate of the Council's expert on Sudan. While many African countries are shy to vote in favour of applying international pressure on other African countries, Mauritius and Zambia, both African Commonwealth countries, voted in favour of keeping international scrutiny on Sudan, while Ghana abstained, reversing its previous positive vote in 2007. Ghana likewise abstained from voting on the landmark 16th session resolution which will put more international scrutiny on Iran, while Ghana's regional neighbour, Senegal, and a fellow Commonwealth African country, Zambia, voted in favour.

Zachary Abugov, CHRI Programme Officer, Delhi Office

This is an edited article from the original. The original has been published by a number of news carriers including all AllAfrica.com See http://allafrica.com/stories/201106230656.html

African Commonwealth Human Rights Weekly Update (21/05 - 27/05/2011)

Botswana

Tuesday 24/05: Commonwealth Anti Corruption Conference:  Botswana played a host to a four day Commonwealth meeting on ways to combat corruption. In the opening speech Botswana’s President Seretse Khama Ian Khama stated that corruption is draining precious resources that could otherwise be used in public services like health and education.

Healthcare and education are known as “positive human rights”. Negative rights govern what the state cannot do to an individual (e.g arrest without charge), whilst positive rights require the state to assist citizens in achieving their rights (e.g providing a school so people can fulfill their right to education).

The rights of citizens to medical care and schooling is contained in Articles 12 and 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Malawi

Monday 23/05: Malawi prepares for life without British Aid: Following the diplomatic row triggered last month by the government’s expulsion of the British ambassador, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet, the UK Department for International Development stated that aid to Malawi would be frozen while relations between the two countries are reviewed.

The aid freeze looks set to have a worrying impact on an economy that receives 40% of its annual budget from the donor community (20% of this aid comes from the UK).  Currently two-thirds of Malawi’s population live on less than $2 a day.

Mauritius

Monday 23/05: Chagossians Await the outcome of London conference: More than 150 exiled Chagos islanders gathered in London to campaign for their return to the Indian Ocean archipelago.

The islanders were forcibly evicted 40 years ago to make way for a US military base on the island of Diego Garcia. The base has come under criticism from the legal charity Reprieve which report that the base is being used for the detention of terrorism suspects.

Over the past decade, the islanders have embarked on a legal struggle for the right to return home. Three years ago, the House of Lords overturned the original high court decision that the islanders could return. The matter is now before the European Court of Human Rights.

The discussion has been complicated further following the British government's decision to declare the islands a marine protected area with a total fishing ban. A balance needs to be struck between the rights of the islanders and efforts at conservation.

Nigeria

Thursday 25/05: Commonwealth Observer report on Nigerian elections: Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma announced the release of the Commonwealth report on the April 2011 elections in Nigeria.

Mr Sharma commended the Nigerian authorities for conducting credible presidential and parliamentary elections. However, significant concerns were raised about the loss of lives before and during the electoral process.

Swaziland

Friday 27/05: Bushfire Boycott Gathers Pace: The Swaziland Solidarity Network announce that Caiphus Semenya, will not only boycott the forthcoming “Bushfire Festival” but will not be playing in Swaziland until the “country becomes democratic”. For more info on click on the link here.

“Deep House DJ”, “Black Coffee” and “Professor” have all also pulled out of performing.

African Commonwealth Human Rights Weekly Update (16/04 - 22/04/2011)

Mauritius

Monday 18/04: Universal Periodic Review: Mauritius hosted a two-day seminar on the Universal Periodic Review. The event was attended by representatives of the seven African Commonwealth countries who are up for periodic review in the coming two tears (Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia). The seminar aimed to strengthen the ability of the states to implement the recommendations they received from the UN Human Rights Council when they were last under review in 2008 and 2009.

The UPR sets out to review the human rights situation in all 192 UN member states every four years. In the process each national government reports to the UN Human Rights Council on the activities they have undertaken to uphold human rights. After consideration of the report, the UNHCR draws up a list of suggestions which are then discussed with the national government to bring together an action plan for the next four years.

Nigeria

Monday 18/04: Election Results: As it had done in the National Assembly Elections, The Commonwealth declared itself happy with the conduct of the Nigerian presidential elections. Speaking for the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Botswana President Festus Mogae said, "The April 2011 elections marked a genuine celebration of democracy in Africa’s most populous country and a key member of the Commonwealth...Previously held notions that Nigeria can only hold flawed elections are now being discarded and this country can now shake off that stigma and redeem its image.”

Meanwhile, areas in the north of the country witnessed some of the worst post electoral violence in recent memory. The Civil Rights Congress claim that more than 500 people have died since the presidential elections on Saturday the 16^th of April. The violence came after it became clear that Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Christian, had defeated a Muslim candidate from the mostly Islamic north.

Uganda

Friday 22/04: Arbitrary Arrests: Kizza Besigye, the leader of the Forum for Democratic change, Uganda’s principle opposition party, spent Easter in jail after being arrested for the third time. He was held by Ugandan police for holding another walk to work-protest in Kampala. Besigye was charged for unlawful assembly and will appear in country on the 27^th of April.

In the town of Masaka one child was killed and two protesters injured by bullets during protests on Thursday. These two incidents are part of ongoing unrest about rising prices and police handling of protests.

Since the conclusion of the February 2011 general elections, the Ugandan police have maintained a blanket ban against all forms of public assemblies and demonstrations. This ban has been imposed on the pretext of ensuring public security. This blanket ban is in violation to the right to freedom of expression guaranteed in Uganda’s Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.