Southeast Asian nation Brunei is reportedly set to issue a revised penal code that will issue the death penalty for a number of offenses, including sodomy.
The proposed laws includes capital punishment for a number of acts including robbery, rape, adultery, extramarital sexual relations for Muslims, blasphemy, declaring oneself a non-Muslim or prophet, murder and insult or defamation of the Prophet Muhammed. The new penal code is set to come into effect on April 22nd.
The United Nations has responded to the country’s proposed revised penal code in a statement by Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Application of the death penalty for such a broad range of offenses contravenes international law,” he said.
“We urge the Government to delay the entry into force of the revised penal code and to conduct a comprehensive review ensuring its compliance with international human rights standards,” he told a news conference in Geneva.
The proposed penal code includes death by stoning for sodomy, rape, adultery and extramarital sexual relations. Brunei has not performed any executions since 1957.
“Under international law, stoning people to death constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and is thus clearly prohibited,” said Colville.
He also added that the criminalization and application of the death penalty for consensual acts between adults violates a number of human rights including the right to privacy, the right to health and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to equality before the law. He also shared concerns that women are more likely to be sentenced to death by stoning due to long-held prejudices against them, as has been revealed by a number of UN studies.
“The provisions of the revised penal code may encourage further violence and discrimination against women and also against people on the basis of sexual orientation,” he said.
