A/HRC/19/41 the wording used refers to vague and undefined concepts, such as “crimes against the order of nature” or “morality”, or “debauchery”. 69 What these laws have in common is their use to harass and prosecute individuals because of their actual or perceived sexuality or gender identity.70 Penalties range from short-term to life imprisonment, and even the death penalty. 41. The criminalization of private consensual homosexual acts violates an individual‟s rights to privacy and to non-discrimination and constitutes a breach of international human rights law. In Toonen v. Australia, the Human Rights Committee found that “adult consensual sexual activity in private is covered by the concept of „privacy‟” under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. According to the Committee, it is irrelevant whether laws criminalizing such conduct are enforced or not; their mere existence continuously and directly interferes with an individual‟s privacy.71 Since Toonen, the Committee, other treaty bodies and special procedures have repeatedly urged States to reform laws criminalizing homosexuality or sexual conduct between consenting adults of the same sex,72 and have welcomed their repeal.73 42. Special procedures mandate holders have emphasized the link between criminalization and homophobic hate crimes, police abuse, torture, and family and community violence, as well as constraints that criminalization places on work of human rights defenders working to protect the rights of LGBT persons. The Special Rapporteur on health noted that “sanctioned punishment by States reinforces existing prejudices, and legitimizes community violence and police brutality directed at affected individuals.”74 The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions noted that criminalization increases social stigmatization and made people “more vulnerable to violence and human rights abuses, including death threats and violations of the right to life, which are often committed in a climate of impunity.”75 43. Since 2000, laws criminalizing homosexual acts between consenting adults have been repealed in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Georgia, Fiji, India, the Marshall Islands, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama and the United States, together with dependent territories of New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In some cases, the courts have overturned these laws; in others, repeal has resulted from a legislative process. In the context of the universal periodic review, several States – including Mauritius, Nauru, Palau, Sao Tome and Principe, and Seychelles – have accepted recommendations to decriminalize homosexuality. 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 14 See A/HRC/10/21/Add.3, paras. 56-58. These laws may also be used in “social cleansing” efforts. See, for example, E/CN.4/1995/111, para. 49, and E/CN.4/2005/7, para. 71. CCPR/C/50/D/488/1992, para. 8.2. See, for example, the concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on Togo (CCPR/C/TGO/CO/4), para. 14; Uzbekistan (CCPR/C/UZB/CO/3), para. 22; and Grenada (CCPR/C/GRD/CO/1), para. 21. See also the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on Uganda (CEDAW/C/UGA/CO/7), paras. 43-44; and Kyrgyzstan (Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/54/38/Rev.1)), paras. 127-128; and the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Chile (CRC/C/CHL/CO/3), para. 29. See, for example, the concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on El Salvador (CCPR/C/SLV/CO/6), para. 3 (c); and Chile (CCPR/C/CHL/CO/5), para. 16. A/HRC/14/20, para. 20. See also the concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on Togo (CCPR/C/TGO/CO/4), para. 14, and E/CN.4/2000/3, para. 116. A/57/138, para. 37.