Maurice Tomlinson, a Jamaican human rights activist, on Thursday challenged [press release] the constitutionality of Jamaica’s Offences Against the Person Act of 1864 [text, PDF], which criminalizes consensual sexual conduct between men, in the Supreme Court of Jamaica [official website]. The complaint alleges that sections 76, 77 and 79 of the law violate provisions of Jamaica’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms [text, PDF], a 2011 amendment to the Jamaican Constitution, including the right to liberty and freedom of the person, privacy and non-discrimination. The action also challenges the constitutionality of the 2011 and 2012 Sexual Offences Act and the Sexual Offences (Registration of Sex Offenders) Regulations, which require [Q&A fact sheet] anyone convicted of these specific offences to be registered as a sex offender and to always carry a pass or face 12 months in prison and a J$1 million fine. The action is supported by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network [advocacy website].

In June the UN reported [JURIST report] that members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community continue to face discrimination and human rights abuses throughout the world. In July US President Barack Obama called on Kenya and other African countries [JURIST report] to provide for the equal treatment of gay and lesbian people at a press conference with the president of Kenya. In August Ugandan Attorney General Peter Nyomb filed [JURIST report] an appeal against the constitutional court ruling that struck down the nation’s anti-homosexuality law. Last October Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] on the violent and discriminatory situation that LGBT individuals in Jamaica were facing.