The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently has six human rights priorities: freedom of expression, especially on the internet; torture prevention; abolition of the death penalty; freedom of religion or belief; women’s rights; and business and human rights. There are currently no plans to change this list of priorities.

Nevertheless, we work actively through our High Commissions to promote tolerance and non-discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Commonwealth. Addressing discriminatory laws, in particular those that criminalise homosexuality, is a priority within this work.

We have made no formal assessment of the impact of the Commonwealth Charter on the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Commonwealth countries.

The Charter reflects the overarching values of the Commonwealth and the aspirations of its citizens. It states that “we are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds.” The UK Government interprets ‘other grounds’ as including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

However, we recognise that over 40 Commonwealth members still criminalise homosexuality. We want to ensure the Charter becomes a key document for holding Commonwealth members accountable to Commonwealth values.

We are committed to working with the Commonwealth and its partners to help them uphold values of human rights, rule of law, democracy and development. We raise human rights issues with the Commonwealth Secretariat and with member states. We seek to increase debate on these issues, including on sexual orientation or gender identity, within and among Commonwealth countries.