For the first time ever, a human rights advocacy court has ruled that Jamaica’s criminalisation of same-sex relations violates the rights of its LGBTQ+ citizens, urging the government to change its laws. According to Reuters, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ruled that the persecution of LGBTQ+ people is a violation of international law, after Human Dignity Trust (an LGBTQ+ legal advocacy group) brought forward the case.
Jamaica is one of nine Caribbean countries that persecutes people for engaging in same-sex relations, with the penalty being up to 10 years imprisonment. A case was first brought against Jamaican authorities in 2011 by two citizens who were attacked by homophobic gangs in the country. Gareth Henry and Simone Edwards subsequently sought asylum elsewhere, and argued that the 1864 ban on the “abominable crime of buggery” and “gross indecency” legitimised violence against LGBTQ+ people.
Following the IACHR’s decision that Jamaican authorities are violating the rights of LGBTQ+ people, Henry, who emigrated to Canada, said: “I’m overwhelmed with joy. Gays and lesbians continue to be killed and tortured because they are deemed to be different.” Téa Braun, the director of the Human Dignity Trust, referred to the verdict as a “highly significant step forward that must now accelerate the repeal of these stigmatising and discriminatory laws.” However, Braun also highlighted that the court’s decision is non-binding and the Jamaican government has yet to formally legalise same-sex relations.
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