Tunisian committee recommends gay sex be decriminalised in the country

Tunisia’s Individual Freedoms and Equality Committee (COLIBE) has made a series of recommendations to the North African country’s president regarding the decimalisation of gay sex. Currently same-sex relations carries with it a jail sentence of up to three years.

COLIBE was assembled to contribute “to the state of individual freedoms and equality in Tunisia through the preparation of a reform project in accordance with the requirements of the Tunisian Constitution of 2014 and international human rights standards.”

The committee has recommended that Article 230 of the Penal Code be dropped so that gay sex can be legalised. “The state and society have nothing to do with the sexual life amongst adults … sexual orientations and choices of individuals are essential to private life,” the COLIBE report states. “Therefore, the commission recommends cancelling [article 230], since it violates the self-evident private life, and because it has brought criticism to the Republic of Tunisia from international human rights bodies.”

COLIBE has recommended that if the president wishes to retain Article 230 that the punishment be lowered to a fine of 500 dinars (US$200).

Human Rights Watch’s Neela Ghoshal has praised the report, saying it could lead to dramatic changes in LGBT+ rights for Tunisians. “(They) may not result in immediate change, but provides fuel for the dynamic LGBT rights movement in Tunisia,” she said.

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