First-ever legal challenge to Jamaica’s anti-gay laws
AIDS-Free World has presented a first-ever legal challenge to the Jamaica’s anti-gay laws, arguing that by criminalising homosexuality under its constitution, Jamaica is in violation of international human rights law.
For immediate Release
October 26, 2011
Kingston, Jamaica, Oct. 26 — At a press conference in Kingston today, Jamaican attorney Maurice Tomlinson announced that his organization, AIDS-Free World, has presented a first-ever legal challenge to the country’s anti-gay laws. AIDS-Free World has filed a petition at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of two gay men whose names are being withheld to protect their safety. A legal team assembled by AIDS-Free World argues that by criminalizing homosexuality under its constitution, Jamaica is in violation of international human rights law. (Details of the legal case and Commission procedure are available in a Q & A at www.aidsfreeworld.org [email][email protected]