Sir Ian McKellen has joined campaigners in London to protest against the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people across the Commonwealth.
The 87-year-old actor and longtime LGBTQ+ rights activist took part in a “Walk of Shame” through the capital on Saturday alongside veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell.
The march highlighted the ongoing criminalisation of millions of gay and trans people in 29 Commonwealth member states, many under colonial-era laws originally imposed by Britain.
Today, six Commonwealth countries still carry a maximum sentence of life in prison for same-sex relations. In Uganda, Brunei and some northern Nigerian states, same-sex relations can carry the death penalty.
McKellen and Tatchell were joined by queer refugees who had fled persecution in some of those countries, as well as activist groups including Out and Proud Africa LGBTI, Let Voice be Heard Bangladesh, Gay Indian Network GIN and the African Equality Foundation.
Sir Ian addressed marchers before they rallied outside the diplomatic High Commissions of eight countries: Nigeria, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, Jamaica, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
“No one should face prison, violence or death simply for being themselves and loving another person,” McKellen said.
“Yet across most of the Commonwealth, LGBT+ people are still treated as criminals.
“Many of these laws are relics of the British Empire. The least we in Britain can do is stand in solidarity with those fighting to overturn criminalisation.
“I am proud to support this march and the brave activists leading the struggle for LGBT+ equality.”
“Commonwealth leaders have failed to end the persecution”
Tatchell said the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, held every two years, refuses to recognise LGBTQ+ human rights or even allow discussion of the issue.
He called on the newly appointed Commonwealth Secretary-General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey of Ghana, to take action.
“For decades, Commonwealth leaders have failed to end the persecution of LGBT+ people,” Tatchell said.
“We urge the new Commonwealth Secretary-General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey of Ghana, to begin her tenure by making clear that anti-LGBT+ victimisation is incompatible with Commonwealth values.
“Twenty-nine Commonwealth countries still criminalise homosexuality, mostly under British colonial-era laws.
“[This is] in direct violation of the Commonwealth Charter’s commitment to equality and non-discrimination.
“Across the Commonwealth, millions of LGBT+ people continue to face arrest, imprisonment, violence and discrimination in employment, housing, education and healthcare.”
Deborah Birunji Nabisere of Out and Proud Africa LGBTI also spoke about the human impact of anti-LGBTQ+ laws. As a lesbian, she was forced to flee Uganda because of persecution.
“I know what it means to live under laws designed to erase your humanity. We are marching because silence has protected persecution for far too long,” she said.
“Commonwealth leaders cannot celebrate unity while millions of LGBT+ citizens live in fear.
“For many LGBT+ people across Africa and the Commonwealth, these laws are not abstract. They shape every part of daily life: whether you can speak openly, whether you can find work, whether you are safe walking home.”
The protest placed renewed pressure on Commonwealth leaders to confront the legacy of colonial-era anti-LGBTQ+ laws and to support the activists working to overturn them.
For McKellen, Tatchell and the refugees who joined the march, the message was clear: equality cannot be celebrated while millions of LGBTQ+ people across the Commonwealth continue to live under threat of prison, violence or death.
