OAS commission criticises Trinidad and Tobago homosexuality recriminalisation ruling

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has condemned a March decision that reinstated the criminalisation of consensual same-sex relations in Trinidad and Tobago, according to ‘Washington Blade’.

Jason Jones, an LGBTQ+ activist originally from Trinidad and Tobago and residing in the U.K., challenged Sections 13 and 16 of the nation’s Sexual Offenses Act in 2017. The following year, High Court Justice Devindra Rampersad deemed these sections unconstitutional.

However, the government appealed Rampersad’s decision, leading Court of Appeal Justices Nolan Bereaux and Charmaine Pemberton to overturn it on March 25.

Jones has expressed his intent to appeal the decision to the Privy Council, an appellate court for British territories that can also hear cases from Commonwealth countries. While King Charles III is not the head of state for Trinidad and Tobago, the nation remains part of the Commonwealth.

In a May 9 press release, the commission stated, “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expresses concern over the recent decision of the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago reinstating legal provisions that criminalize consensual sexual relations between adults of the same sex, which had been previously repealed by a first instance court decision in 2018. The IACHR reiterates that such laws are incompatible with international human rights standards — particularly the rights to privacy, equality, and non-discrimination — and have a profoundly discriminatory impact on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex (LGBTI), and gender diverse persons.”

Established by the Organization of American States in 1959, the commission aims to promote human rights across the Western Hemisphere. It collaborates with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, founded by the OAS in 1979, to enforce the American Convention on Human Rights.

In a 2021 ruling, the commission urged Jamaica to repeal its colonial-era sodomy law. However, the Jamaican Supreme Court, in 2023, ruled against a gay man challenging it.

Countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and Dominica have recently decriminalised consensual same-sex relations. In contrast, St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ top court dismissed two challenges to its sodomy laws last year.

The commission emphasised, “Laws criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy between adults are incompatible with the principles of equality and nondiscrimination under international human rights law. The criminalization of conduct intrinsically linked to rights recognized by international standards constitutes a violation of the principle of legality.”