TO: Beji Caid Essebsi, President of the Republic of Tunisia.Your Excellency,On 13 August 2017, you a
TO: Beji Caid Essebsi, President of the Republic of Tunisia.Your Excellency,On 13 August 2017, you appointed the Commission on Individual Freedoms and Equality and tasked it with recommending “reforms linked to individual freedoms and equality, deriving from the provisions of the January 27, 2014 Constitution, international human rights standards and new trends in the fields of liberties and equality.”In their report, published on 12 June 2018, the Commission clearly recommended repealing penal code article 230, which criminalises homosexual acts, and banning anal tests, a discredited method used forensically on men suspected of being gay.In 2017, there were at least 71 arrests under article 230 - literally days ago, a young man was sentenced to 4 months in jail for exchanging romantic messages online with another man. Article 230 fuels discrimination and violence – and it’s time to put an end to it.President Beji Caid Essebsi, we are calling on you to seize this significant opportunity to introduce legislation that would abolish Article 230 of the Tunisian Penal Code and prohibit anal testing.This legislation is key to meet the requirements of the 27 January 2014 Constitution of Tunisia and to harmonize its legislation with international human rights standards.Yours Faithfully, Mounir Baatour, Shams – Pour la dépénalisation de l'homosexualité en TunisieMatt Beard, All OutAnastasiia Danilova, GENDERDOC-M Information Centre, MoldovaJohn O’Doherty, The Rainbow Project, IrelandLeonardo Monaco, Associazione Radicale Certi Diritti, ItalyCosta Gavrielides - Adviser for Multiculturalism, Acceptance and Respect for Diversity to the President of Cyprus.Vladimiras Simonko, Asociacija LGL, LithuaniaSebastiano Secci, Mario Mieli | Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale, ItalyEdwin Sesange, African Equality foundation, the UKFrank Mugisha, Sexual Minorities Uganda - SMUGMaxwell W. Monboe, Liberia’s Initiative for the Promotion of Rights,Identity Diversity and Equality (LIPRIDE), LiberiaIfeanyi Orazulike, International Center for Advocacy on Right to Health - ICARH, NigeriaFrançoise Mukuku, Si jeunesse savait, Republique Democratique du CongoLana Gobec, Legebitra, SloveniaLuswata Andrew Brant, IceBreakers UgandaHazan Kahrizi, Alwan for LGBT rights in the Middle East and North Africa, IraqAmir Mukambetov, LGBT organization Kyrgyz Indigo, KyrgyzstanAkudo Oguaghamba - Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative, (WHER) NigeriaAlexandre Marcel, Comité idaho, FranceSteve Letsike, Access Chapter 2, South AfricaBusingye Louis, Human Rights First Rwanda Association, RwandaFrederic Hay, ADEHOS, FranceOlfa Youssef, universitaire et islamologue, TunisieSymmy Larrat, ABGLT, BrazilKarim Belhadj, cinéaste, TunisiePaul Dillane, Kaleidoscope Trust, the UKRuth Muganzi, Kuchu Times Media Group, UgandaQwin Mbabazi Fiona and Fokeerbux Najeeb Ahmad, African Queer Youth InitiativeJérémie SAFARI, Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko Democratic Republic of the CongoRonald Céspedes, Fundación Diversencia, BoliviaOlivier King SIBO, MOLI, BurundiIvan Hinton-Teoh, just.equal, AustraliaMitch Yusof, SEED, MalaysiaWei-Cheng Lin, Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ) Hotline Association, TaiwanNkali Biggie, FARUG, UgandaMidnight Poonkasetwattana, APCOM, ThailandJoey Siosaia Joleen Mataele, Tonga Leiti’s Association, Kingdom of TongaHadi Damien, Beirut Pride, LebanonCelestine Peter, lawyer, TanzaniaMuriel Yvon, Collectif Arc en Ciel, MauritiusJinan Limam, ADLI, TunisieChad Wilkinson, Rainbow Foundation of Hope, Vancouver, CanadaMarylize Biubwa - Member Femnet and Activista, Kenya -- source link