ALARM AS CHAD CONSIDERS GAY SEX BAN

Chad may become the next African country to criminalise homosexuality, punishable with lengthy prison sentences.

According to AFP, the changes to the country’s penal code would abolish the death penalty but would also make gay sex illegal.

Under the proposed law, those found guilty of homosexuality would be fined between 50,000 and 500,000 Central African francs (R1,100 – R11,000) and would be imprisoned for between 15 and 20 years.

It is understood that the provisions have been approved by the country’s Cabinet and will proceed to Parliament. President Idriss Déby would need to sign the changes if they are passed by lawmakers.

Radio France Internationale reports that the pending criminalisation of homosexuality aims to acknowledge the religious nature of the country’s people, to “protect the family and to comply with Chadian society.”

“This is a setback for legal reform in Chad – the revisions to the penal code are intended to integrate national law with international law, whereas this provision would do exactly the opposite,” Graeme Reid, director of the LGBT rights programme at Human Rights Watch, told The Guardian.

Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in the US, called on President Déby to reject the proposed changes to the penal code.

“By criminalising homosexuality, Chad’s proposed penal code is an instrument of discrimination, not of justice,” said Kennedy. “I urge President Déby and the Chadian parliament to reject any attempts to make prejudice the law of the land.”

“The principle of non-discrimination is enshrined in all human rights instruments signed and ratified by the Chadian government,” added Santiago A. Canton, Executive Director of RFK Partners for Human Rights. “The proposed changes to Chad’s penal code show total disregard for the country’s international obligations.”

Homosexuality is currently not illegal in Chad. According to a 2010 US State Department human rights report on the country, “There were few reports of violence or discrimination against LGBT persons, in large part because most such persons were discreet about sexual orientation due to social and cultural strictures against homosexuality.”