Peter Tatchell was on Monday, March 14 threatened with arrest when he tried to stage a one-person silent peaceful protest for LGBTQ+ rights outside Westminster Abbey as Commonwealth leaders arrived for the annual Commonwealth Day service.
Mr Tatchell was told that holding a placard near the Abbey entrance criticising the 35 Commonwealth countries that criminalise LGBTQ+ people was “likely to cause a breach of the peace” and that he would be arrested and prosecuted.
Officers forced Mr Tatchell to move to the other side of road, where Commonwealth leaders and High Commissioners could not see him.
Mr Tatchell went to the side of Abbey and shouted his critique of Commonwealth homophobia through a high-powered megaphone, which could be heard inside by some of the dignitaries.
Mr Tatchell shouted: “Thirty-five out of 54 Commonwealth counties criminalise homosexuality. Seven have life imprisonment. The Commonwealth’s estimated 100-200 million LGBTQ+ citizens are treated as criminals.
“These anti-LGBTQ+ laws violate the Commonwealth Charter which pledges that all member states are ‘committed to equality’ and ‘opposed to all forms of discrimination.’
“Commonwealth leaders refuse to recognise that LGBTQ+ rights are human rights. For over 50 years, they’ve vetoed any discussion of the issue at their heads of government meetings.
”Countries that criminalise LGBTQ+ people should be suspended from the Commonwealth.”
Speaking after the protest, Mr Tatchell added: “Commonwealth countries account for over half of the world’s 69 nations where same-sex relations are illegal, mostly under laws imposed by Britain during the nineteenth century when it was the colonial power.
“Hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people are widespread and unchecked in most Commonwealth countries. The vast majority of LGBTQ+ people living in the Commonwealth have no legal protection against discrimination in employment, housing and the provision of goods and services. This makes a mockery of Commonwealth values and the human rights principles of the Commonwealth Charter.”
· Consult and dialogue with their LGBTQ+ organisations
The seven Commonwealth countries that have a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for same-sex acts are: Bangladesh, Barbados, Guyana, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda.
The Peter Tatchell Foundation website
