The fight for queer relationship equality; where we stand in 2018

Overview:

2018 was a bit of an up-and-down year for the equal marriage movement. While no countries fully extended same-sex marriage rights in the past twelve months, several international developments took place that broadened LGBT rights and set the stage for more victories in 2019 and beyond.

This year saw equal marriage extended for the first time to the UK Crown Dependencies of Alderney and Jersey, the UK territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and a civil union law passed in San Marino – altogether, that’s less than 200,000 new people added to our equal marriage populations chart (and Jersey previously had civil unions). You can just refer to last year’s population chart if you’re interested, since so little changed.

 

EUROPE:

Before 2018: Equal Marriage in Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Malta; parts of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Akrotiri & Dhekelia bases); partial implementation in Austria; recognition of foreign marriages in Estonia and Armenia. Civil Unions in: Andorra, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Finland, Germany, Malta, Greece, and Cyprus.

Developments in 2018: Equal Marriage in UK territories Jersey and Alderney; EU court ruling for mutual recognition.

Looking ahead: Czech Republic, Austria, UK (Jersey, Sark, Northern Ireland), Switzerland, Monaco, Romania

EUROPEAN UNION: The European Court of Justice ruled that EU member states much recognize each other’s same-sex marriages when it comes to the mobility rights of EU Citizens, their spouses and families. The ruling impacts several states that recognized neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions: Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. Estonia already recognized foreign same-sex marriages in practice. The ruling also stands to impact same-sex marriages in several applicant/candidate EU countries: Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Turkey’s progress has basically been suspended given the country’s slide into authoritarianism).

UK: Once again, Northern Ireland was locked in a governmental deadlock all year as the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), has continued to see fit to leave Northern Ireland without a government rather than allow equal marriage to pass. The UK government has likewise refused to impose direct rule as the current government depends on the DUP for survival in Parliament. Twin private members’ bills in both houses of Parliament to allow equal marriage in the province have both failed to advance. A bill to allow the civil service to continue the functions of government in Northern Ireland included a directive that the government recognize the same-sex marriage ban as a human rights violation was passed by Parliament, but has thus far not been tested. The Court of Appeal also heard a challenge of a ruling upholding the same-sex marriage ban in March, but has yet to issue a ruling.

Meanwhile, an equal marriage law in the crown dependence Alderney that passed last year came into effect, and crown dependency Jersey passed its same-sex marriage law in May 2018. The remaining crown dependency, Sark (pop. 600) did not have equal marriage on its agenda in 2018. An election in that territory is expected in early 2019.

Other UK territories that passed equal marriage laws in 2018 are Bermuda and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. You can read more about those territories in the section on the Americas. As of now, 9/14 UK overseas territories allow same-sex marriage.

AUSTRIA: On Dec. 5, 2017, the Constitutional Court found that marriage is a fundamental right that must be granted to homosexuals. The ruling took effect immediately for the five petitioning couples, so some same-sex marriages have already taken place in Austria. However, the court gave the government until Jan. 1 2019 to craft a law that would have general effect; after that date, the court’s ruling will strike down the same-sex marriage ban even if the government doesn’t act. The far-right, anti-gay government was not in a rush to act in 2018, but as of Jan 1, it’s officially an equal marriage country.

SWITZERLAND: A long-delayed same-sex marriage bill is expected to be presented to Parliament in early 2019. Also, on Jan. 1, 2018, a new law came into effect allowing couples in registered partnerships to adopt their stepchildren (joint adoption/non-relative adoption is still not allowed). Still, don’t expect neighboring Liechtenstein to act; the principality’s Catholic ruler has said in the past he would veto any laws for same-sex marriage or couple adoption.

CZECHIA: A same-sex marriage bill was introduced in late 2018, and it is expected to be voted on in early 2019. Reports indicate that a majority of the population is in favour, as are a majority of legislators. A step-child adoption bill introduced last year did not advance, but is presumably covered under the marriage legislation.

SAN MARINO: The government finally passed its civil union law, modelled after Italy’s but with the difference that it allows step-child adoption, in December 2018. Legislation to allow foreign LGBT couples to marry in San Marino, as called for by the Grand Council in a motion last year, has not been introduced.

ROMANIA: Romania was at the centre of much equal marriage mobilization in 2018. As discussed above, it was at the centre of the ECJ case in June. Then in September, the Constitutional Court of Romania issued a ruling that found LGBT couples have the same rights to privacy and family life as straight couples, urging the government to create some sort of regime for LGBT couples. Nevertheless, the government went ahead with its long delayed referendum to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in October – that vote failed on low turnout. Following the referendum failure, several MPs introduced a civil unions bill, but it has stalled in Parliament.

MONACO: The government presented its civil partnership bill in April, but the text was much watered-down in terms of the rights it gives partners, and explicitly says the partners do not constitute a family. It has not advanced as of this writing.

ESTONIA: The courts sought to bring clarity to the law in Estonia, where a registered partnership bill was passed in 2016, but without any accompanying regulations to bring it into force (which the current government refuses to enact). The Supreme Court ruled in April 2018 that the law is in fact in force, and that couples can be registered. Courts also clarified an earlier ruling that required Estonia to recognize foreign same-sex marriages by finding in September that this did indeed confer residency rights on LGBT spouses (in compliance with the ECJ ruling).

MONTENEGRO: The country’s human rights ministry drafted a weak civil unions bill that roused anger from both progressives and conservatives. Just this week, the cabinet announced it had approved the draft bill, which, they say, accords queer couples most of the same rights as straight married couples. It will likely be brought before the Parliament in 2019.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: The Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, (one of three political entities that make up the country Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with Republika Srpska and the Brcko District) passed a motion calling for LGBT civil union legislation. If passed, it would appear that it would only apply to the FBH, the Bosnian-Croat half of the country.

POLAND: A minor party introduced a registered partnership bill; it has not advanced.

SLOVAKIA: The President called on legislators to pass a civil union bill introduced by a minor party. The bill was defeated in September. However, the government did announce it was immediately complying with the ECJ ruling regarding immigration rights for LGBT spouses.

LITHUANIA: After a civil partnership bill was defeated last year, the government was on the cusp of passing a much watered-down cohabitation agreement bill, but that also has not advanced in 2018. The president called on the government to recognize LGBT couples in February.

SPAIN/CATALONIA: Spain’s constitutional crisis following a 2017 vote for independence in its Catalonia province continued. While actual secession looks unlikely right now, if it does secede, it would automatically become a new equal marriage country – and the first one to have it since its creation.

CYPRUS: Hopes for a resolution to the 40-year-old division of Cyprus have continued despite increasingly long odds of a resolution. Talks did not recommence in 2018, though some hope there will be a new round in 2019. The division is relevant because if the country reunites, it’s possible the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, upon ceasing to exist, will become subject to Cyprus’ civil partnership law. It would also be subject to EU law, which would make it affected by the expected ECJ ruling on marriage discussed above.

MACEDONIA: The country’s rapprochement with Greece (after a 20-year-long dispute over its name) following the election of a Western-leaning government, holds promise that the country will be invited to begin EU accession talks soon, which could eventually positively impact LGBT rights in the region. It will hold a referendum in 2019 on changing its name to Republic of North Macedonia in accordance with the agreement.

ANDORRA: An election is expected in March/April 2019. Previously, the opposition Social Democrats had campaigned for same-sex marriage. It remains to be seen if they advocate for it again, and if they win. The Socialists and Greens have a narrow lead in the most recent poll.

ARMENIA: A bill to further ban same-sex marriage – despite constitutional and statutory bans already in place – was rejected by the government in November. It seems that last year’s decision to recognize foreign same-sex marriages still stands, though I’ve yet to find evidence of the policy in practice.

MALTA:  A bill allowing LGBT couples access to assisted reproduction was passed.

FINLAND: A bill extended automatic parental recognition to LGBT couples was passed.

GREECE: A bill allowed LGBT couples to foster children was passed.

 

AMERICAS

Before 2018: Equal Marriage in Canada, US (and territories Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands), Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and twelve states and the capital district of Mexico; plus Greenland (Denmark), Caribbean Netherlands, some UK territories (Bermuda, Falkland Islands) and French overseas territories (St Pierre and Miquelon, Martinique, Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, Guadeloupe, French Guyana); limited recognition in Netherlands countries (Saint Martin, Curacao, Aruba); Civil Unions in: Chile, Costa Rica, Aruba (Netherlands).

Developments in 2018: Bermuda yo-yos back and forth, the UK adds South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, while the Interamerican Court of Human Rights drops a grenade.

Looking ahead: Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, Cuba, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bermuda (sigh), Cayman Islands, Mexico.

 

INTERAMERICAN COURT RULING: In January, the Interamerican Court delivered an advisory opinion in a case brought by Costa Rica, that found that member states of the court are obligated under the Interamerican Convention on Human Rights, to recognize same-sex marriage and recognize the rights of trans people to change their gender. The decision sets a binding precedent on most member states, although the court does not have the power to directly enforce it – it requires local courts to interpret its rulings. The states that accept the IACHR’s jurisdiction which do not currently recognize same-sex marriage are: Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Suriname. However, Dominica, Grenada and Jamaica do not directly apply the jurisdiction of the Court.

In the wake of the ruling… well, it’s been a shitshow. Many countries reacted angrily to the Court’s ruling. None has directly applied the ruling.

COSTA RICA: Costa Rica is the state that kicked off the IACHR case, and may ultimately be the first to apply the decision. A Presidential election that was fought largely over this issue saw the pro-equality candidate win, although with a Congress that is not as supportive. That left it up to the Constitutional Court, which found in favour of equality in August, but didn’t publish the decision officially until November, and gave the government 18 months from that date to pass a law allowing it. If the government doesn’t act before then, it will become legal on May 26, 2020. Meanwhile, the new President passed an executive order allowing gender changes in June, and issued an apology to LGBT people for state persecution in July.

UK Territories Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI): Bermuda was the site of much legal drama this year. After the Senate passed the Domestic Partnership Act revoking equal marriage, the UK-appointed Governor took his time approving it but finally did, to the dismay of many LGBT activists. What followed were two court cases on the island that found the government’s decision was a violation of constitutional protections of freedom of conscience – which is actually a novel argument for same-sex marriage. As the Court of Appeal refused the government’s request for a stay following its decision, equal marriage is once again legal in Bermuda. The government announced it is appealing the decision to the UK Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the highest court in the land. Incidentally, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth office has repeatedly said this year that it will not force equal marriage on its territories.

Some commentators have said that a positive decision from the JCPC could have ramifications for other countries and territories under its jurisdiction (including five other UK territories – Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, and Virgin Islands; one Crown Dependency – Sark; twelve independent countries: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, and Kiribati; and two New Zealand associated states – Cook Islands and Niue). However, I don’t believe that’s how the JCPC works. Its decisions are based on the legal statutes and constitutions of each particular country – the countries do not share a single constitution that the court is interpreting. Still, its decisions could prove influential in shaping the LGBT rights debates in these countries. We shall see.

(It may be worth noting that many independent Caribbean countries have been rejecting attempts to replace the JCPC’s jurisdiction with the Caribbean Court of Justice in recent years, including both Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada in 2018. We’ll see if they don’t regret that decision.)

In the Cayman Islands, a court case seeking same-sex marriage rights was brought by a bi-national Caymanian lesbian couple. It has yet to be heard.

In the uninhabited SGSSI, the UK government attempted to rewrite history, by declaring in 2018 that same-sex marriage has been legal there since 2014. Regular readers of this blog know that’s false, since just last year, the registrar from the Falkland Islands (which has jurisdiction over the territory) told me same-sex marriage was impossible there. Oh well, it’s academic, because it’s legal now.

CHILE: Congress failed to pass a marriage equality bill in its lame-duck session, and although the new congress has a pro-equality majority, new President Pinera has been in no rush to support it. The bill is essentially frozen, which has elicited a dressing down from the IACHR, to which Chile pledged year ago under President Bachelet to pass such a law. We shall see how it progresses.

MEXICO: Elections in July saw a rather dramatic change occur across the country, as a pro-equality leftist president was sworn in, and his MORENA coalition won an absolute majority in both houses of Congress, and in the congresses of a dozen states where same-sex marriage is currently not legal. Early fears that evangelical members of the MORENA coalition would block marriage legislation have not panned out. The federal government has already passed legislation extending federal rights to LGBT couples (pension and social security rights) and has proposed changes to fully incorporate LGBT marriage into federal law (so couples can get married at embassies and automatically enjoy federal recognition). At the state level, it appears that local legislators are pushing ahead with new same-sex marriage legislation all over the country, and I fully expect to see major progress on this end in 2019. Reports have also emerged that Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Nuevo Leon states have achieved the magic number of five consecutive amparos requiring same-sex marriage that could automatically invalidate their state bans, but the invalidation doesn’t seem to have taken effect. I take reports of these “5 amparo” developments with a big grain of salt, because it seems very few people actually understand how the law works in this regard.

PANAMA: A Supreme Court case dating from 2016 still was not resolved as of this writing, though there was some drama surrounding a draft ruling that was released last year and found against equality – it was withdrawn in February. A couple of dates went by in December where we expected to see the ruling, but it didn’t arrive. It is expected the new ruling will take into account the IACHR decision. The Vice President and Attorney General have both said the government must fully comply with the IACHR, but no executive action has been taken so far.

ECUADOR: Following the IACHR ruling, a provincial court in Cuenca, Azuay ruled that the government must recognize LGBT marriages in June, but that ruling was overturned in September by a higher court. In July, the president of the Constitutional Court said that a majority of justices were in favour of same-sex marriage and would likely vote in favour of it. No case has yet been brought to the Constitutional Court.

CUBA: After a change in the presidency, the country spent much of the year debating a new constitution, which included a clause that called for gay marriage. After a backlash from Evangelicals, the clause was altered to be less specific, but leave language vague enough to allow for gay marriage in the future. Mariela Castro, the country’s most prominent LGBT rights activist, says nothing’s really changed, since the language still permits equal marriage legislation, which would need to be passed anyway. She says after the new constitution is passed in a February 2019 referendum, discussions will begin on a new, LGBT inclusive family code, which will probably go to referendum in 2021.

VENEZUELA: Also in the process of drafting a new constitution which could include same-sex marriage. Venezuela is kind of a legislative shitshow right now, with dueling legislative assemblies – the de jure National Assembly, which is controlled by the opposition, and the de facto Citizens Assembly, which is controlled by the government and has been charged with drafting the new constitution. Amazingly, both seem to support same-sex marriage but neither has passed such a law. A Supreme Court case on the issue has not advanced since 2016.

PERU: A case that required the national registry to record a foreign same-sex marriage in 2017 was thrown out by the Supreme Court on a technicality in March, but then an appeal on that decision was held in the Constitutional Court in June. No decision has been announced yet. Some legislators welcomed the IACHR decision, but the government has announced no position on it.

HONDURAS: The President announced his opposition to same-sex marriage, but said it was up to the judiciary. The constitution does explicitly ban same-sex marriage since 2005. In May, a case was filed with the Supreme Court for same-sex marriage and it remains pending.

EL SALVADOR: The Constitutional Court struck down a proposed amendment to the constitution banning same-sex marriage, on procedural grounds. There hasn’t been any news in response to the IACHR ruling.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: There hasn’t been any movement regarding the IACHR’s marriage decision, but the President did issue an order allowing a group of trans people to change their legal gender in June.

BOLIVIA: With no movement from the government after the IACHR ruling, a group of trans activists appealed directly to the IACHR in May to have their relationships recognized. No decision has been made in that case.

PARAGUAY: Following the IACHR ruling, the President announced he would veto any same-sex marriage bill that came to his desk. The country’s LGBT advocacy group announced its intention to file a Supreme Court case for equal marriage.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: The nation’s high court ruled in September that the state’s buggery and indecent acts laws were unconstitutional, becoming the latest nation to decriminalize homosexuality in the region (following Belize in 2016). The Court did not go as far as Belize in finding that the a ban on sexual orientation discrimination must be read into the law. The government has announced its intention to appeal to the JCPC in London – the state’s final court of appeal. Read on the section above regarding UK territories for how this might impact other countries.

Also this year, a court ruled on the dissolution of a same-sex relationship, although this does not seem to have set a precedent so far.

GUYANA: The Caribbean Court of Justice, the state’s highest court, struck down an anti-cross-dressing law on the grounds it discriminated against trans people. A buggery law remains unchallenged.

GUATEMALA: The government reacted very negatively to the IACHR ruling, introducing a so-called “life and protection” bill that further bans same-sex marriage and criminalizes abortion and miscarriage. It is still pending through the legislative process.

CANADA: I didn’t write a year in review for Xtra this year, but here are the highlights. Canada’s House of Commons passed a justice reform bill that sweeps a number of anti-LGBT sections from the Criminal Code, including anal intercourse, vagrancy, and sections relating to bawdy houses. That bill is pending at the Senate. The government’s LGBT apology and expungement act was passed into law. Regulations around assisted reproduction were loosened to the benefit of queer couples, but maintained discrimination against queer sperm donors. Ontario elected a bigot as Premier and he’s set about throwing meat to the base by removing queer people from the sex ed curriculum. Nova Scotia and the city of Vancouver banned conversion therapy on minor; an Alberta MLA announced she’d introduce a bill to do so there, but it hasn’t landed yet.

 

ASIA-PACIFIC:

Before 2018: Equal Marriage in Australia, New Zealand, French overseas territories (French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia), UK overseas territories (Pitcairn Islands and British Indian Ocean Territory), parts of Antarctica (see below), US territories (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands Territory); limited recognition in American Samoa, Israel; civil union in Chilean territory (Easter Island); limited civil partnerships in some Japanese cities, most of Taiwan.

Developments in 2018: An inconclusive Taiwan referendum, limited victories in Hong Kong, more civil partnerships in Japan, decriminalization in (most of) India

Looking ahead: Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong/China, India, Cook Islands.

 

TAIWAN: In May 2017, the Judicial Yuan ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, and said the law would come into effect May 26, 2019 unless the government acted sooner. After stalling for over a year, anti-LGBT groups and pro-LGBT groups collected enough petitions to force competing referendums on the issue in November. The pro-equality side lost badly. It seems the government’s position is that it must respond to the referendum results by passing a law for same-sex ‘marriage’ that is separate from the marriage sections of the civil code but otherwise equal. We have no idea what this would look like now, but the Constitutional Court has already hinted that that would not be in the spirit of its original ruling and that the referendum cannot overrule it. In any event, in five months marriage equality should be the law in Taiwan, making it the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

HONG KONG: The territory’s Court of Final Appeal upheld an order requiring the government to grant a spousal visa to a lesbian citizen’s British partner. The government is complying with the ruling. In another case, a lesbian has filed a case with the High Court demanding the right to a civil partnership with her partner. The case is expected to be heard in early 2019.

CHINA: As the country moves to modernize its Civil Code by 2020, there have been calls to add provisions for same-sex marriage.

THAILAND: After long delays, the military government approved a civil partnership bill that gives many of the same rights as marriage, including adoption rights, on Dec 25. It will be sent to Parliament, but it appears unlikely to pass before the February elections.

JAPAN: A number of cities added same-sex partnership registries in 2018: Fukuoka, Osaka, Chiba, Toshima, Nakano, Fuchu, Kumamoto, Yokosuka (the latter five all taking effect in 2019). Partnership registries are also under consideration in:  Saitama, Yokohama, Abashiri, Hachiōji, Hannō, Iruma, Kamakura, Kawagoe, Kawasaki, Kazo, Moroyama, Sakado, and the Tokyo wards of Arakawa, Bunkyō, Chiyoda, Chūō, Katsushika, Kita, Kōtō, Nerima, Sumida, and Taitō. A legal challenge demanding access to full same-sex marriage has been announced.

PHILIPPINES: A civil unions bill and a sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination introduced in Congress last year appear to have both stalled. Both look like they will die ahead of May 2019 elections.

SOUTH KOREA: Hopes that a new draft constitution would include same-sex marriage were dashed when the constitutional talks failed.

INDIA: India’s Supreme Court struck down sections of the Indian Penal Code that criminalize gay sex, in a widely expected ruling. India was the largest country by population and area to criminalize LGBT people. An underreported detail, the ruling does not apply to the semi-autonomous disputed territory Jammu & Kashmir, which has its own penal code. It is expected that that should fall under an eventual separate court challenge, however. Some speculate that with the Supreme Court’s ruling, a ruling for same-sex marriage rights can’t be far behind. It certainly doesn’t look like the legislators are touching that though.

ISRAEL: A same-sex civil union bill was introduced, but failed by three votes in its preliminary reading after the government voted against it. The next election is scheduled for April 9, 2019, and the government is currently dominating the polls.

COOK ISLANDS: A revision of the territory’s Crimes Bill, which would strike the sodomy law, has been in consultations since 2017. It appears to have been delayed by elections, but I can’t find evidence that the bill was reintroduced post-elections. The Cook Islands is a sovereign country within the Realm of New Zealand. The South Pacific has been a specific focus of UN action on decriminalization recently, with decriminalization passing in Palau, Nauru, and Fiji this decade. Still to go: Solomon Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea.

NEW CALEDONIA: This French territory’s independence referendum failed in November 2018, but another will be held in 2020. If it passes, and independence is achieved (likely after another couple of years of transition), it would become a new equal marriage country from birth (the first, unless Catalonia beats it).

Speaking of new states, the Bougainville Autonomous Region of Papua New Guinea is meant to hold an independence referendum in June 2019. If successful, it could be a new criminalizing state, unfortunately.

EASTER ISLAND: This Polynesian territory is part of Chile, and would gain equal marriage if Chile’s law passes.

ANTARCTICA: In a strictly academic sense, marriage equality is almost complete in Antarctica, since all of the claiming countries except Chile have passed a same-sex marriage law that applies to their Antarctic claims. However, the claims are not generally recognized internationally, except by each other (and even then, not completely – Argentina, Chile, and the UK claims all overlap). A quarter of Antarctica is not claimed by any country. Many countries have research bases in other countries claimed areas, and in practice, it is the base country’s laws that apply. Australia, France, Norway, New Zealand, UK, and Argentina are all equal marriage countries, and their law applies within their claim areas. Should Chile’s equal marriage bill pass, same-sex couples will have theoretical marriage rights throughout the claimed territory of Antarctica.

 

AFRICA:

Before 2018: Equal Marriage in South Africa, French overseas territories (Reunion, Mayotte), Spanish exclaves Cueta and Melilla; UK territory Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

NAMIBIA: A court case was brought to force the government to recognize a same-sex couple who were married in South Africa has been pending since December 2017.

ANGOLA: A long-delayed overhaul of the 19^th-century colonial penal code was delayed further in 2018. Though it would eliminate the vague laws banning sodomy, it also would forbid abortion in all circumstances. An MP is also proposing to reintroduce the death penalty. Consultations around the bill are ongoing, and it’s expected to pass in early 2019.

Southern Africa has been a relative hotspot of the decriminalization movement this decade, with victories in Lesotho, Sao Tome & Principe, and fellow former Portuguese colony Mozambique, along with discussions in Malawi and Botswana.

CHAD: It appears that the law criminalizing sodomy did come into effect in 2017, contrary to what I’d previously reported.