IACHR welcomes decision to decriminalize consensual sexual relations between same sex adults in Saint Lucia

August 12, 2025

Washington, DC - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the ruling issued by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) on July 29, 2025, which declared unconstitutional the criminalization of consensual sexual relations between same sex adults. With this decision, Saint Lucia joins other nations whose courts have struck down criminalization provisions as human rights violations.

In 2021, litigants Randall Theodule, Vernon Bellas and United and Strong Incorporation, filed a claim against the government of St. Lucia contending that sections 132 and 133 of the Criminal Code criminalizing buggery and gross indecency with a penalty of up to 10 years' imprisonment were inconsistent with various constitutional rights protected under the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of Saint Lucia. The ECSC found that the legislation which criminalised same sex consensual acts contravened the rights to protection of the law, privacy and discrimination among others. The Court also found a probable link between these laws and prejudice-based crimes against persons with diverse sexual orientations.

Legislative provisions that criminalize private consensual same sex relations are against international human rights standards, as they violate human dignity, privacy, and freedom of expression. The IACHR has noted that even when these laws are not enforced, they have a negative impact on society, as they foster prejudice, encourage acts of violence, enable a culture of impunity and are used to justify the arbitrary arrests, detention and even torture of LGBTI persons.

In 2020, the IACHR emphasized that such criminal prohibitions interfere in aspects related to the private lives of individuals on the basis of a protected category of the American Convention without reasonable justification, in violation of human rights standards. Furthermore, they constitute barriers for persons with non-normative sexual orientations and gender identities to access other rights, such as freedom of association, freedom of expression, health, employment, access to justice, among others.

Out of thirteen member states in the Caribbean, only five continue to criminalize consensual sexual relations between same sex adults. This highlights a positive trend in which most OAS member states are moving towards decriminalisation./p>

The IACHR calls upon those States that still maintain criminalizing legislation to repeal the laws that facilitate the persecution of LGBTI persons. Further, all States of the region are urged to take concrete actions to protect the rights of LGBTI persons and to continue advancing their social inclusion and real equality by promoting cultural shifts towards democracies respectful of human rights and diversity. The IACHR reaffirms its commitment to States and Civil Society Organizations to assist in the processes to create a legal framework that protects LGBTI persons from all forms of violence and discrimination.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 160/25

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