decision by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights sets a precedent for LGBT rights across the Caribbean and is the commission’s first finding that laws that criminalise LGBT people violate international law.The two Jamaicans who brought the case, Gareth Henry and Simone Edwards, had argued that the laws against “buggery” and gross indecency – originally imposed by the British colonial administration – violate their rights and legitimise violence towards the LGBT community in Jamaica.
Both were forced to flee Jamaica following violent attacks.In its decision, which was handed down in September 2019 but could not be reported before now, the commission said Jamaica was responsible for the violation of multiple rights of the claimants,.