>From: International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission >Date: 18 Jun 94 17:28 PDT (October 1992 Action) U.N. Rules Against Tasmanian Anti-gay Law The Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group reports that on 11 April the United Nations Human Rights Committee found that Tasmania's laws against private, consenting, adult homosexual acts breach the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Letters are needed to maintain pressure on the Australian and Tasmanian governments to repeal Sections 122 (a) and (c) and 123 of the Tasmanian Criminal Code. The decision is unprecedented in the history of the United Nations and represents the first time that body has officially recognized that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights applies to lesbians and gays. The UN Human Rights Committee has given the Australian Federal Government 90 days to report on actions it has taken to overturn Tasmania's laws. In arriving at its decision the committee made clear that the Covenant's right to privacy provisions are breached not only by the possibility of arrest under the challenged laws, but also by the discrimination, harrassment and stigma created by those laws. The Committee dismissed the argument that the anti-gay laws are justified by any state interest in public health or morality. Despite the clear intent of the UN Human Rights Committee, press reports indicate that the Tasmania State Government is intent on keeping its anti-gay laws. The laws carry a maximum of 21 years in prison for sexual intercourse "against the order of nature". Letters are needed asking both local and federal authorities to do everything in their power to bring Tasmania's penal code into line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A sample letter follows: Dear __________: I/We are writing in regards to the opportunity that your government presently holds to take decisive action in the global battle for human rights. I am referring in particular to your potential lifting of Tasmania's anti-gay laws which, as long as they stand, tarnish Australia's reputation as a nation that respects human rights. I/We wholly support the United Nations Human Rights Committee's finding that Tasmania's' anti-gay laws breach articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In response to this finding, it is vital that your government repeal these laws. Your actions to eliminate these laws would not only remove institutional support for hatred and prejudice against lesbians and gay men, but would also be a responsible public health move in terms of the HIV epidemic. In moving away from mystifying HIV and AIDS and from stigmatizing groups of people, you would remove significant impediments to implementing comprehensive and effective HIV education programs. Actions to lift the hatefull anti-gay laws have the support of the international lesbian and gay community and the world wide human rights movement. Thanks very much for your attention to this letter. Sincerely, Write to: Hon. Paul Keating, Prime Minister, Parliament House, Canberra, A.C.T., 2600 AUSTRALIA Hon. Ron Cornish, Attorney General, Parliament House, Canberra, A.C.T., 2600 AUSTRALIA Hon. Ray Groom, Premier, Parliament House, Hobart, Tasmania, 7000 AUSTRALIA Hon. Ron Cornish, Attorney General, Parliament House, Hobart, Tasmania, 7000 AUSTRALIA