LGBT rights in South Sudan
Encyclopedia
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in South Sudan
face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT
residents. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal and carries a penalty of up to ten years' imprisonment.
was formerly part of Sudan
, and subject to its interpretation of Sharia law, under which homosexual activity was illegal, with punishments ranging from lashes
to the death penalty. In 2008 the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan
adopted its own penal code, which prohibits "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and prescribes a sentence of ten years' imprisonment.
, now President of South Sudan, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that homosexuality is not in the "character" of Southern Sudanese people. "It is not even something that anybody can talk about here in southern Sudan in particular. It is not there and if anybody wants to import or to export it to Sudan, it will not get the support and it will always be condemned by everybody," he said.
In 2006, Abraham Mayom Athiaan, a bishop in South Sudan, led a split from the Episcopal Church of Sudan for what he regarded as a failure by the church leadership to condemn homosexuality sufficiently strongly.
The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report on Sudan (of which South Sudan was at that time a part) found that "societal discrimination against homosexual persons was widespread both in the North and the South".
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
residents. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal and carries a penalty of up to ten years' imprisonment.
Law
South SudanSouth Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
was formerly part of Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, and subject to its interpretation of Sharia law, under which homosexual activity was illegal, with punishments ranging from lashes
Flagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
to the death penalty. In 2008 the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan
Government of Southern Sudan (2005–2011)
The Government of Southern Sudan, was an autonomous government that administered the ten southern states of Sudan between its formation in July 2005 and independence as the Republic of South Sudan in July 2011. The autonomous government was initially established in Rumbek and later moved to Juba...
adopted its own penal code, which prohibits "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and prescribes a sentence of ten years' imprisonment.
Social attitudes
In July 2010 Salva Kiir MayarditSalva Kiir Mayardit
Salva Kiir Mayardit is the first President of the Republic of South Sudan.-Sudanese civil wars:In the late 1960s, Kiir joined the Anyanya in the First Sudanese Civil War. By the time of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement, he was a low-ranking officer...
, now President of South Sudan, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that homosexuality is not in the "character" of Southern Sudanese people. "It is not even something that anybody can talk about here in southern Sudan in particular. It is not there and if anybody wants to import or to export it to Sudan, it will not get the support and it will always be condemned by everybody," he said.
In 2006, Abraham Mayom Athiaan, a bishop in South Sudan, led a split from the Episcopal Church of Sudan for what he regarded as a failure by the church leadership to condemn homosexuality sufficiently strongly.
The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report on Sudan (of which South Sudan was at that time a part) found that "societal discrimination against homosexual persons was widespread both in the North and the South".