“For 77 years, the Commonwealth has refused to address LGBT+ equality.”
– The Peter Tatchell Foundation, 31 May 2026.
Across the Commonwealth, 29 of 56 member states still criminalise LGBTQ+ people. This figure is confirmed by the Peter Tatchell Foundation, which notes that these member states account for half the countries in the world that outlaw homosexuality.
Additionally, the Kaleidoscope Trust reports that as of 2025, marriage equality was legal in only 6 countries, 42 countries did not have legal gender recognition, and 47 countries did not recognise non-binary identities.
(The Guardian, 31 May 2026)
These laws are not tied to traditional indigenous cultures. They are not examples of modern-day governments upholding the longstanding morals and customs of their countries. They are colonial imports, imposed through British rule and retained after independence. Their continued enforcement strands these nations in outdated, archaic human rights abuse, and harms millions of their own people.
“We are committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights covenants and international instruments. We are committed to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, for all without discrimination on any grounds as the foundations of peaceful, just and stable societies.
We note that these rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and cannot be implemented selectively. We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds.”
(Commonwealth Charter)
The Legacy of Colonial Law
Most criminalising statutes descend from British colonial codes, including Section 377 and “gross indecency” – the latter being the same law that led to Oscar Wilde’s conviction over a century ago. The majority of these laws were drafted in London, not in the countries that still enforce them.
Political cycles often revive or reinforce these inherited laws (see It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again). But the legacy includes the promotion of attitudes that lead from persecution to the perpetuation of gay conversion therapy. Trans people are often targeted most easily for persecution or violence because their gender expression makes them more visible to authorities and to those who wish to confront difference. Politicians like President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda proclaim that homosexuality is a western import when the reality is that homophobia is the import. Museveni claims that Africa should lead the world in abolishing homosexuality, that LGBT+ influences are a threat to children, and that Western nations should stop lecturing Africa about human rights, when in fact his own anti-gay laws are a result of colonial laws and of more recent influences from US and UK evangelical hate groups.
Rainbow Humanists call for immediate repeal of all homophobic laws.
Repeal is not Western interference. Repeal is decolonisation — the correction of a terrible legal legacy Britain created and left behind, a legacy that has destroyed lives and families for decades.
“These anti‑LGBT+ laws violate the Commonwealth Charter, which pledges equality and opposition to all forms of discrimination….
“For 75 years, Commonwealth leaders have refused to even discuss LGBT+ rights at their summits….
“The Secretary‑General… has failed to uphold the Charter on multiple human rights issues.
“Countries that criminalise LGBT+ people should be suspended from the Commonwealth.”
(Commonwealth Day protest, 10 March 2025)
The Human Cost
Criminalisation produces predictable outcomes:
- police harassment
- blackmail and extortion
- forced marriage
- denial of healthcare
- family rejection
- imprisonment
- violence, including murder
The Tatchell Foundation documents cases of life imprisonment in several Commonwealth states, including Bangladesh, Guyana, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda. Source: Tatchell Foundation – Life Imprisonment Jurisdictions (petertatchellfoundation.org in Bing) (bing.com in Bing)
Three Commonwealth countries — Nigeria, Brunei, and Uganda — retain the death penalty for certain same‑sex offences. Source: Tatchell Foundation – Death Penalty Jurisdictions (petertatchellfoundation.org in Bing) (bing.com in Bing)
Annual reporting on IDAHOBIT shows consistent patterns of hostility in criminalising states; see IDAHOBIT Day 2026 for the latest summary of conditions on the ground.
The murder of Trinidad Jerry is just one example of many that demonstrate how criminalisation enables violence and impunity.
“The jailing and murder of LGBT+ people is a crime against humanity.”
(Commonwealth Day protest, 10 March 2025)
What Repeal Achieves
Repeal removes the legal foundation for violence and discrimination. Where criminalisation ends, we see improved health outcomes, reduced police abuse, safer schools, stronger civil society, and the beginning of cultural change.
Australia’s own implementation of Marriage Equality in 2017 demonstrates the educational as well as legislative role of changing abusive laws.
Where criminalisation ends, we see:
- improved health outcomes
- reduced police abuse
- safer schools
- stronger civil society
- better access to justice
- the beginning of cultural change
Repeal is not the end of the struggle. It is the start of a future where LGBTQ+ people can live without fear.
Forced Migration and Refugee Flight Across Africa
Criminalisation does not only harm people within their own borders. It forces LGBTQ+ people to move across Africa in search of the least punitive jurisdiction, creating patterns of displacement that mirror the outdated colonial laws themselves.
For further evidence of cross‑border displacement caused by criminalisation, see LGBTQ+ Refugees Left Behind. All LGBT+ persecution is unacceptable, but those forced to flee in fear of their lives must surely be among the most disempowered and vulnerable of all.
Conditions in refugee camps such as Kakuma show how criminalisation follows people even after they flee; see Kakuma Pride 2023 as an example to show how Kenya is literally decades behind Stonewall in 1969.
The long history of queer displacement across borders is explored in You Must Needs Be Strangers, the sad plight of people forced to flee from families and communities only to find stigma elsewhere; some of the most overlooked, powerless, voiceless and disadvantages people in the Commonwealth.
Amnesty International and other organisations reveal how conditions in refugee camps such as Kakuma demonstrate that criminalisation follows people even after they flee. Violence, harassment, and impunity remain common, leaving LGBT+ refugees decades behind the protections that should be standard in every Commonwealth Nation.
A Humanist Position
Humanism begins with a simple premise: every person has the right to live openly, safely, and without fear. Laws that criminalise sexual orientation or gender identity violate that principle.
Humanist ethics reject:
- punishment based on identity
- religiously‑derived moral codes enforced through the state
- the use of law to impose conformity
- the idea that human dignity can be conditional
Criminalisation fails every test of evidence, reason, and human welfare.
Rainbow Humanists Activism:
1. Public Advocacy
We speak plainly about the origins and consequences of criminalisation and challenge claims that these laws reflect “culture” or “faith”.
2. Solidarity Networks
We work with humanist, secular, and LGBTQ+ organisations across the Commonwealth to support local activists and amplify their work.
3. Evidence‑Based Education
We promote clear explanations of the colonial origins of anti‑LGBTQ+ laws, the health and social impacts of criminalisation, and the human‑rights frameworks that support repeal.
4. Support for Humanist Activists
For accounts of activists working under threat, see Silenced but Unbroken.
Call to Action
Support Local Activists
Support human‑rights defenders working under threat. For further context, see LGBTQ+ Refugees Left Behind.
Engage Your Community
Share accurate information about the colonial origins of these laws. Speak up when you hear people sharing misinformation or discriminatory attitudes. For a concise historical reflection, see It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again.
Write to Commonwealth Representatives
Follow the link (or click the box immediately below) to go a dedicated page with a letter/email template, plus MP email and postal addresses:
Contact the Commonwealth Secretariat
A separate page (click link) can provide sample template emails and letters and provide postal, email, and departmental contacts for the Secretariat.
Tatchell Foundation Acknowledgement
The Peter Tatchell Foundation provides comprehensive documentation of criminalisation across the Commonwealth. Their work underpins the statistical and legal references used throughout this page.
Stay Informed
Follow evidence‑based reporting from the Peter Tatchell Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Kaleidoscope Trust, and other sources.
Our Goal: A Commonwealth Worth Living In
If the Commonwealth is to have any moral legitimacy in the 21st century, it must confront the legal legacy it created. A community of nations cannot be built on laws that criminalise the existence of millions of its citizens.
Humanists have a role to play: to speak clearly, to act consistently, and to insist that human dignity is not optional.
We uphold the values of the Commonwealth Charter, and ask our political representatives to live by these same principles.
“We emphasise the need to promote tolerance, respect, understanding, moderation and religious freedom which are essential to the development of free and democratic societies, and recall that respect for the dignity of all human beings is critical to promoting peace and prosperity.
“We accept that diversity and understanding the richness of our multiple identities are fundamental to the Commonwealth’s principles and approach.”
(Commonwealth Charter)
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