The U.S. State Department last week
criticized implementation of a penal code in Brunei that makes gay
sex punishable by death.
The penal code, which is based on
Shariah Law, makes gay sex and adultery punishable by death in
Brunei, an oil-rich Southeast Asian nation. The law took effect on
Wednesday.
“All governments have an obligation
to ensure that all people can freely enjoy the universal human rights
and fundamental freedoms to which they are entitled,” State
Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a statement.
“The United States strongly opposes violence, criminalization and
discrimination targeting vulnerable groups, including women at risk
of violence, religious and ethnic minorities, and lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons.”
“We continue to encourage Brunei to
ratify and implement the United Nations Convention Against Torture,
which it signed in 2015, and to sign, ratify, and implement the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” Palladino
added.
Implementation of the law has been
widely criticized and sparked renewed calls to boycott nine hotels
owned by Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, who is considered
one of the richest persons in the world. Two of the properties are
located in California.
Celebrities backing the boycott include
George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John and Billie Jean King.
(Related: Billie
Jean King joins celebrities calling for boycott of Sultan of Brunei's
hotels.)