Countries
This section offers information on the situation for LGBT persons in more than 50 countries in which Danish organisations are operating through development cooperations or otherwise.
Where available, the country pages list legislative status, legal incidents and social climate, local LGBT organisations, and the country's ratification of relevant conventions.
The data was collected June-July 2012. For some countries, information is very scarce.
Persecutions in Cameroon
Cameroon prosecutes people for consensual same-sex conduct more aggressively than almost any country in the world, four human rights organizations said in a report released March 2013. At least 28 people have been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in Cameroon since 2010. Most cases are marked by grave human rights violations, including torture, forced confessions, denial of access to legal counsel, and discriminatory treatment by law enforcement and judicial officials.
Subcategories
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Africa
In most countries on the African continent including North Africa, same-sex relations are illegal and LGBT persons face discrimination and violation of fundamental rights. Homosexual acts are illegal in 38 African countries. In four of these countries (Mauritania, Sudan, 12 northern states in Nigeria and in the southern parts of Somalia) homosexual acts are punishable with death penalty.- Article Count:
- 31
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Asia
Homosexual acts are illegal in 9 Asian countries (as of May 2012). In countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Burma, this is however rarely or never reinforced. Still, LGBT persons do face discrimination and violation of fundamental rights throughout the region.
- Article Count:
- 13
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Europe
- Article Count:
- 2
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South America
In some of the countries on the Southern American & Caribbean Continent same-sex relations are illegal and LGBT persons face discrimination and violation of fundamental rights.
As of November 2017 homosexual acts are illegal in 10 countries, mostly the Caribbean countries. The detailed list of countries includes Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenades, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and Grenada. Note that these ten countries differ when it comes to illegality of realtionship between males, females, or both, as well as according to the number of documented arrests in the past 3 years.
- Article Count:
- 8
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Middle East & North Africa
In most of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) same-sex relations are illegal and LGBT persons face discrimination and violation of fundamental rights. Note that all MENA countries criminalizes same-sex relationships among both males and females, except Israel (Palestine), Egypt, as well as Lebanon and Kuwait (only between males).
As of November 2017 homosexual acts are illegal in 14 countries in MENA. In seven of these countries (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Qatar, United Arab Emirates) homosexual acts are punishable with death. In all MENA countries except Iran, Tunisia, Israel (Palestine), Lebanon and Iraq there is a state ban on NGOs.
Many of the countries of the MENA region have legal systems based on sharia (Islamic) law, and many of their constitutions explicitly designate Islam as the state religion, even though non-Sunni-Muslim minorities account for up to 40% of their populations. Female Genital Mutilation (“FGM”) is another severe issue facing women in the MENA region, particularly in Egypt, Sudan and Yemen. Its fundamental aims are to destroy female sexual pleasure and to control female sexuality.
- Article Count:
- 12