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Angola has finally shed the divisive “vices against nature” provision in its law, widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexual conduct.

Taking things one step further, the government has also prohibited discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation. And so anyone refusing to employ or provide services to individuals based on their sexual orientation may face up to two years in prison.

The changes came on January 23 as Angola’s parliament adopted its first new penal code since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and removed the provision, inherited from its Portuguese colonizers.

While there have been no known prosecutions under the law, provisions like this one curtail the rights and freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, subjecting their intimate lives to unwarranted scrutiny.

Colonial-era laws outlawing same-sex conduct give tacit state support to discrimination against gender and sexual minorities, contributing to a climate of impunity. Iris Angola, the country’s only gay rights lobby group, has often complained that its members face discrimination when accessing health care and education.

Last year Angola gave legal status to Iris Angola, which was established in 2013 – a move that can now be seen as a forerunner for this latest step toward equality. The group called the decision an “historic moment” allowing the organization to defend the rights of sexual minorities in Angola. In contrast, Mozambique, another former Portuguese colony, decriminalized homosexuality in 2015, when it too adopted a new penal code, but declined to register the country’s biggest LGBT group, Lambda, leaving it to operate freely, but not legally.

While countries such as India have been compelled by court rulings to strike anti-homosexuality laws from the books, others have done so through legislative reform. Recent examples include Sao Tome and Principe (2012) and Cape Verde (2004) – two other former Portuguese colonies – as well as Lesotho (2012) and Seychelles (2016) in Africa, and Palau (2014) and Nauru (2016) in Oceania.

In casting aside this archaic and insidious relic of the colonial past, Angola has eschewed discrimination and embraced equality. The 69 other countries around the world that still criminalize consensual same-sex conduct should follow its lead.</s>Angola, a west-coast country of south-central Africa, has decriminalised same sex-conduct in the country.

The discrimination was on Wednesday, January 23, decriminalised against people on the basis of sexual orientation which anyone refusing to employ or provide services to individuals based on their sexual orientation may risk two years in prison.

The decriminalization was put into effect by Angola’s parliament as the country adopted its first new penal code since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The bill was passed with 155 votes in favour, one against and seven abstentions.

The development gives the rights and freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, subjecting their intimate lives to unwarranted scrutiny.

In 2018, Angola gave legal status to Iris Angola, an organisation founded in June 2013 for the defense of sexual minorities in Angola.

Iris Angola described the Justice Ministry’s decision as a “historic” moment, AFP reported.

“We’re turning the page for gay citizens who now have a body that is recognised by the state which gives more weight to the work of our organisation,” said Iris Angola’s Carlos Fernandes.

This has been confirmed to be one of the reforms under the administration of President Joao Lourenco, a former defense minister who took office in 2017 after the long rule of Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Concise News gathered that in 2018, India, Trinidad and Tobago also decriminalised homosexuality. The Indian Supreme Court ruled that the anti-gay British-era penal code, similar to Angola’s, was unconstitutional.</s>Parliament in Angola has abolished a law widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexuality.

The government has also prohibited discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation; anyone refusing to employ or provide services to individuals based on their sexual orientation may face up to two years in prison.

Angola is the latest former Portuguese colony to repeal laws outlawing same-sex conduct, following Sao Tome and Cape Verde.

There have been no known prosecutions under the now expunged law.

Many other African countries enforce strict legislation against homosexuality.</s>LUANDA – Angola's Parliament has decriminalised homosexuality, removing a notorious "vices against nature" provision in its penal code and banning discrimination against sexual orientation, in a reform hailed by rights watchdogs.

On Wednesday, 155 parliamentarians voted for Angola's first overhaul of the criminal statute books since independence, while seven abstained and one voted against.

"Angola has finally shed the divisive 'vices against nature' provision in its law," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.

"In casting aside this archaic and insidious relic of the colonial past, Angola has eschewed discrimination and embraced equality."

While Angola had no known prosecutions under the old law, HRW said the contested provision harmed the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people and exposed their lives to painful scrutiny.

The new legislation is the first overhaul of Angola's criminal code since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

The new law also aims to shore up protection against sexual discrimination.

Anyone who refuses to employ individuals or provide services to them on the grounds of sexual orientation will be liable to a jail term of up to two years.

"The 69 other countries around the world that still criminalise consensual same-sex conduct should follow its (Angola's) lead," HRW said.

In a historic moment last year, Angola gave legal recognition to a gay rights lobby group called Iris Angola, marking a major breakthrough in a closed and conservative society.

Angola has been led since September 2017 by President Joao Lourenco, who succeeded Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the country's ruler for almost four decades.

Lourenco has sought in several ways to distance himself from his predecessor.

He has launched a campaign against corruption that has netted several top officials from the last government.

He has also sought to mend fences with the international community, which has long been critical of Angola's human rights record and expressed interest in joining the Commonwealth and international francophone community.</s>Angola's parliament has decriminalised homosexuality, removing a notorious "vices against nature" provision in its penal code and banning discrimination against sexual orientation, in a reform hailed by rights watchdogs.

On Wednesday, 155 parliamentarians voted for Angola's first overhaul of the criminal statute books since independence, while seven abstained and one voted against.

"Angola has finally shed the divisive 'vices against nature' provision in its law," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.

"In casting aside this archaic and insidious relic of the colonial past, Angola has eschewed discrimination and embraced equality."

While Angola had no known prosecutions under the old law, HRW said the contested provision harmed the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people and exposed their lives to painful scrutiny.</s>Angola has decriminalized a colonial-era ban on same-sex activity and outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The southern African nation also explicitly outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation, which includes refusing to employ or provide services to anyone on those grounds.

Anyone found in violation of the anti-discrimination law could face up to two years in prison.

It is the latest reform ushered in by the administration of President Joao Lourenco, a former defense minister who took office in 2017 after the 38-year rule of Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

The new penal code - the new first penal code since independence from Portugal in 1975 - scraps the 'vices against nature' provision from 1886, which was in practice a de facto ban on homosexuality.

While the state had long since stopped using the former law to prosecute LGBT people, it implicitly provided a means by which they could face discrimination or intrusive scrutiny into their private lives.

Angola has also gone a step further than Mozambique, another former Portuguese colony that decriminalized homosexuality in 2015, by granting legal status to its only gay rights lobbying organization - Iris Angola.

Mozambique declined to register its own leading LGBT group, Lambda, so while it operates freely, it is still not technically legal.

Iris Angola called its acquisition of legal status last year after five years of operation a 'historic moment'.

The group had previously said that its members were subject to discrimination in health care and education.

Same-sex conduct is still criminalized in 69 countries.

According to the rights monitoring website Equaldex, Angola joins 22 African nations where homosexuality is legal, versus 35 where it is illegal.

While some countries, including India and the Republic of the Congo, have legalised homosexuality since 2017, in that year alone Tuvalu, Kiribati, Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis all made male homosexuality illegal and the Maldives made same-sex relations punishable by a prison term.

'In casting aside this archaic and insidious relic of the colonial past, Angola has eschewed discrimination and embraced equality,' wrote Graeme Reid, the director of HRW's LGBT Rights Programme.

'The 69 other countries around the world that still criminalise consensual same-sex conduct should follow its lead.'</s>On Wednesday, the Human Rights Watch reported that Angola decriminalized same-sex relationships, outlawing discriminatory behavior against people based on their sexual orientation. Under the new penal code, employers and other services will not be allowed discriminate against an Angola citizen based on their sexual orientation. And if they do so, they could end up in jail for at least two years.

The Angola parliament adopted a new criminal code on Wednesday, the first time it's done so since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The Human Rights Watch reported that under its former colonial law, there was a "vices against nature" provision, which human rights advocates decried as homophobic. It's worth noting that this won't be the first time a colonial-era provision essentially criminalized homosexuality in colonized countries.

The move to decriminalize same-sex relationships is long overdue, according to the Human Rights Watch. "In casting aside this archaic and insidious relic of the colonial past, Angola has eschewed discrimination and embraced equality," the agency's LGBTQ director Graeme Reid wrote.

Of the previous provision, Reid noted, "While there have been no known prosecutions under the law, provisions like this one curtail the rights and freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, subjecting their intimate lives to unwarranted scrutiny."

Human rights groups have been keen about covering homophobia in African nations. Among them is Amnesty International, another human rights agency, which released a detailed report in 2018 about the African countries where it is and isn't legal to have same-sex relationships.

At that time, Angola was listed as one of the countries where homosexuality was illegal. Still, it's worth noting that in 2018, the Angolan government legalized the country's LGBTQ group, Iris Angola, in a move that seems to have paved the way for Wednesday's development.

Other African countries where homosexuality is legal include places like São Tomé, Príncipe, South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cape Verde, and a few others.

With the new criminal code in Angola, members of the country's LGBTQ community are more likely to feel safe expressing themselves out in the open.

Whether it comes down to applying for jobs as a gay individual or wanting to show one's love and affection without being subjected to hostility and bigotry, the new penal code could make life much easier for many gay and lesbian Angolans.

Honing in on the point of treating LGBTQ members with respect, Human Rights Watch's Reid wrote in 2015 about the effects of criminalizing same-sex relationships and how they have an especially damaging impact on young people.

"What message does it send to young LGBT people that their most intimate desires are subject to criminal sanction by the state?" Reid wrote that year. "Young LGBT people are particularly vulnerable to a negative self-image and potential self-harm. Social opprobrium matters very much."

"It is a damaging message when the law says that you are less worthy than your peers," Reid added. With the Portuguese colonial provision out of the way, things may change for better in Angola.</s>Luanda, Jan 25 (IANS) Angola has decriminalised same-sex relationships, according to Human Rights Watch agency, the media reported.

The agency also reported that the Angolan government had created new sets of laws that ban discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation.

Individuals who refuse people employment or services because of their sexual orientation could spend up to two years in jail under the new law.

Angola’s parliament adopted a new penal code on January 23 for the first time since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975, paving the way for lawmakers to remove the provision characterising same-sex relationships as “vices against nature,” the rights agency said.

“In casting aside this archaic and insidious relic of the colonial past, Angola has eschewed discrimination and embraced equality,” the Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Thursday.

Angola joins the growing but few numbers of African countries that have decriminalised same-sex relationships.

Neighbouring Mozambique removed anti-gay laws in 2015, while Sao Tome and Cape Verde have also abolished laws criminalising gay relationships.

Despite the changes, LGBT people and communities still face prosecution and hatred in many African countries.

A top Nigerian policewoman asked gay people living in the country to leave or face prosecution this week.

“If you’re homosexually inclined, Nigeria is not a place for you,” Dolapo Badmos, a Chief Superintendent wrote on her Instagram.

LGBT people risk a 14-year jail term in Nigeria, while anyone found guilty of being in a same-sex relationship faces a 30-year jail sentence in Tanzania.</s>The southern African country’s parliament also declared it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on the basis of their sexual orientation, instituting a two-year jail term for violating it.

Angola, which gained independence from Portugal in 1975, has had no documented prosecutions for same-sex conduct under the old law, according to Human Rights Watch. But the organization maintained that the decision would still ensure greater protection of the Angolan LGBT community, which has reported instances of discrimination when seeking health care services.

“They are taking a proactive step in preventing discrimination, rather than just getting rid of a discriminatory law,” Human Rights Watch Director of LGBT reform Graeme Reid told BuzzFeed News.

Last year’s legal status granted to Angola’s only LGBT advocacy group, Iris Angola, gave an early indication that the courts would revise the colonial relic.



Angola joins two other Portuguese-speaking African countries — São Tomé and Príncipe in 2012 and Cape Verde in 2004, respectively — to decriminalize same-sex conduct.

“In casting aside this archaic and insidious relic of the colonial past, Angola has eschewed discrimination and embraced equality,” Human Rights Watch’s statement said. “The 69 other countries around the world that still criminalize consensual same-sex conduct should follow its lead.”

Angolans and others around the world went on Twitter to celebrate the landmark decision.</s>Human Rights Watch says the southern African nation of Angola has decriminalized same-sex activity and banned discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The rights group says the changes came on Wednesday when Angola’s parliament adopted the new first penal code since independence from Portugal in 1975.

This is the latest in reforms under the administration of President Joao Lourenco, a former defense minister who took office in 2017 after the long rule of Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Human Rights Watch notes that Angola’s only gay rights lobbying organization, Iris Angola, was granted legal status last year after four years of operation.

The global rights group says 69 countries still criminalize same-sex conduct.
Angola decriminalizes homosexuality.