In an apparent U-turn on plans to decriminalize homosexuality, lawmakers from the South Pacific Cook Islands are pushing to retain a law that could jail men for gay sex in a blow to LGBT+ rights groups.
The self-governing nation of 15 islands with a largely Christian population of about 17,000 people has been debating whether to scrap a law which, despite never having been enforced, would impose a sentence of up to seven years.
Legislation drafted in 2017 appeared to remove references to the gay sex ban, but a lawmaker reforming the country’s five-decade-old penal code said last week that homosexuality would remain illegal, according to local media.
“There were provisions [on homosexuality] removed from the draft bill, and people said they have got some concerns about it,” Cook Islands lawmaker Tingika Elikana told Cook Islands News. “If you remove those provisions, then you more or less encourage [homosexuality] to be in the open.”
LGBT+ rights vary across the Asia-Pacific region. Australia is relatively liberal, while Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in May.
In other parts of the region, socially conservative attitudes prevail. Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei ban sexual relationships between men, and Indonesia has seen an increase in raids targeting LGBT+ people.
Rights groups said the Cook Islands was joining countries such as Brunei in rolling back gay rights.
“This is of the gravest concern to our community and we will continue to protest at this impingement on our constitutional rights as citizens of this country,” said Valentino Wichman, president of LGBT+ group Te Tiare Association.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was unable to provide an immediate comment on the crimes bill, which is due to be presented to the Cook Islands’ parliament early next year.
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