Un communiqué de presse émanant d'Amnesty, pour le moment en anglais uniquement.
Discrimination and persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and intersex (LGBTI) people in South Africa and Cameroon must be halted,
Amnesty International said as activists around the world mark the
International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia.
Instances
of harassment, discrimination, persecution, violence and murders
committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or
gender identity are increasing across sub-Saharan Africa.
Political
leaders in some countries in Africa not only fail to protect people’s
rights not to be discriminated against, but also often used statements
or actions to incite discrimination and persecution.
In
Cameroon, seven men are currently imprisoned under the laws prohibiting
same-sex sexual conduct, while homophobic and transphobic hate crimes
are widespread in South Africa, where attacks on LGBTI people are
inadequately investigated, creating a climate of impunity for
perpetrators.
“It is deeply disturbing that in 2012, people are
still being persecuted because of their real or perceived sexual
orientation or gender identity,” said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty
International’s director for Africa.
“It is high time that the Cameroonian government moves to repeal laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity.”
“In
South Africa, authorities must ensure that hate crimes against LGBTI
people are thoroughly investigated and their constitutional right to
equality upheld.”
Since March 2011, 13 people in Cameroon have
been arrested under the law criminalizing ‘sexual relations with a
person of the same sex’.
Most have been targeted on the grounds
of their perceived sexual orientation, rather than on any alleged
participation in prohibited consensual acts. In virtually no cases have
the police or other eyewitnesses claimed to have seen the alleged sexual
acts.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found that
laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity are in violation
of international human rights law.
In Cameroon, a court in
Yaounde sentenced Jean-Claude Roger Mbede to three years in prison under
this law in April 2011. Two other men were sentenced to five years’
imprisonment in July 2011, while four more men who were arrested in
August 2011 remain in detention awaiting trial.
In South Africa,
sexual assaults and other physical attacks against LGBTI people are all
too common, particularly against those living in townships and rural
areas.
In the early hours of 24 April last year, 24-year old
lesbian Noxolo Nogwaza was murdered on her way home from a night out
with friends. Her attackers raped, repeatedly beat and stabbed her -
apparently because of her sexual orientation - before dumping her body
in a drainage ditch.
A year after her death, no progress has been made in the investigation into her murder and her killers remain at large.
Noxolo, who was also a human rights defender, lived and died in KwaThema, a township east of Johannesburg in Gauteng Province.
In
the last five years, there have been at least 10 cases reported of rape
followed by murder of lesbian women in townships in different parts of
the country. South African civil society and Amnesty International are
campaigning against widespread failure to investigate homophobic and
transphobic hate crimes which contributes to a climate of impunity for
perpetrators.
mardi 22 mai 2012
Inscription à :
Publier les commentaires (Atom)
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire