The Peter Tatchell Human Rights Foundation and the Out and Proud African LGBTI Network have joined forces to collate a protest on Saturday 30th May. The organisers say "Please join us and Ian McKellen this Saturday 30 May for our big protest against the persecution of LGBTs by a majority of Commonwealth member states.
Our Commonwealth Walk of Shame will go to the High Commissions of some of the 29 Commonwealth countries that criminalise LGBTs. Six have life imprisonment and three have the death penalty.
Assemble: Saturday 30 May, 12 noon, Nigerian High Commission, 9 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BX. MAP HERE
(nearest tubes: Embankment & Charing Cross).
Ian McKellen will launch the walk.
We will then march to the High Commissions of Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad & Tobago, Ghana, Jamaica, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The walk will finish at around 4pm. There will also be snacks for everyone at about 3pm in Hyde Park, kindly provided by Out and Proud African LGBTI.
The Commonwealth is an association of nations that were formerly part of the British Empire. Britain colonised a quarter of the world and exported our homophobic laws to these countries. Most still retain and enforce them.
For 77 years, Commonwealth leaders have refused to recognise LGBT+ human rights, or even allow any discussion of the issue at their two-yearly conferences. 77 years!
Together, we can make our voices heard for LGBT+ freedom in the Commonwealth, not just in London, but through media coverage also in Uganda, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Jamaica and so on. We hope this protest will be a morale boost to brave LGBT+ activists campaigning against tyrannical homophobic regimes.
Ian McKellen just turned 87. He is not well enough to do individual photos. Please do not ask him. There will be a group photo with him.
We know that some people attend events to meet Peter Tatchell. Peter is always happy to pose for photographs, but this will take place at the end of the walk, so that the focus remains on the protest itself."
You might also consider making a donation to support our Commonwealth campaign. We are helping fund an underground LGBT+ help centre in Uganda, providing a safe space and vital support for young LGBT+ people fleeing family rejection, mob violence and police harassment.
