1. Decriminalization of homosexuality

182. The Constitutional Court, by decision No. 106 (R.O. 203, 27 November 1997), suspended the application of article 516 of the Penal Code, which declared homosexuality an offence, on the grounds that it constituted discrimination based on sexual orientation and  was  not  in  line  with  article  26  of  the  Covenant,  this notwithstanding the fact that the Constitution does not prohibit discrimination on grounds of “other status”, as required by the Covenant.

183. The National Plan for Human Rights contains a separate section (in art. 25 of the decree) concerning the rights of sexual minorities, “guaranteeing such persons the right not to be discriminated against on account of their sexual activities, and facilitating satisfaction of their economic, social and cultural needs by means of non- discriminatory laws and regulations”. It also provides that “the officials responsible for State security shall not perform any acts of persecution or harassment against individuals on account of their sexual proclivities”; for such practices are extremely common within the country.

link to the full text of the State Party information:
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/cb0ad2751a2c53958025676e004fc32b