CAIRO: Tunisia's Human Rights Minister Samir Dilou has rejected calls by the United Nations Human Rights Council to decriminalize same-sex acts, saying that sexual orientation is a “western concept” that is “incompatible with Islam, Tunisian culture and tradition.” It comes on the heels of months of battling in the North African country over the rights of the LGBT community, who say that since the uprising ousted the former government in January 2011, the plight of the gay community has faced numerous challenges. Hind, a young Tunisian lesbian, lamented in a statement to Bikyamasr.com that “this is what we are facing right now. Despite the positives of the revolution, the conservative backlash is hurting the overall human rights struggle in the country.” In a press conference held in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, on June 2, Dilou argued that while all Tunisians are entitled to basic protection, lesbian, gay and bisexual people are not included. He said this was because the concept of “sexual orientation is specific to the West. Tunisia has its own identity as an Arab Muslim state.” According to Dilou, who is also a justice minister and official government spokesman, Tunisian law overrides such a “stipulation” as it “clearly describes Tunisia as an Arab Muslim country,” he stated to Tunisia-Live. The rise of moderate Islamists in the country have thrown LGBT rights into the forefront, especially after the publication of the country's first gay magazine. He also does not see the law against homosexuality as in conflict with the premise of freedom. “There is no absolute freedom. All freedoms are restricted by the law,” he said. The anti-gay French colonial law (Article 230), adopted and maintained by the Ben Ali regime, is still in effect, despite the Tunisian revolution, penalizing same-sex acts with up to three years imprisonment. The response came after a Tunisian delegation, headed by Dilou, attended UNHCR's May 22 to 25 session where the suggestion that homosexuality should be decriminalized was made. Dilou stated that Tunisia approved most of the 110 recommendations of the Human Rights Council for Tunisia, including judicial reform, equality for women, child and disabled rights. Some recommendations were said to need further discussion and national debate, while the only two rejected outright concerned the decriminalization of same-sex acts and religious defamation. This is the second time this year that Tunisia's Minister of Human Rights has spoken about his opposition to gay rights. Earlier this year Dilou referred to homosexuality as a disease as opposed to a human right, which was sharply criticized by Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders and Act up Paris. He also stated the he objects to Tunisia's first openly gay magazine, Gaydaymag, saying “freedom has its limits.” For Hind and others in the LGBT community in Tunisia, the uphill battle for acceptance and their full rights as Tunisian citizens continues, but they are unlikely to have an ally in the human rights ministry. ** Information from Gay Star News was used in this report.
