According to rights group Human Rights
Watch, Angola has decriminalized gay sex.
“Angola has finally shed the divisive
'vices against nature' provision in its law, widely interpreted to be
a ban on homosexual conduct,” the group wrote.
Human Rights Watch said that the
provision prohibiting same-sex relations was a holdover from its
Portuguese colonizers. On January 23, Angola's parliament adopted a
new penal code and removed the provision.
Human Rights Watch said that it did not
know of any prosecutions under the law.
“In casting aside this archaic and
insidious relic of the colonial past, Angola has eschewed
discrimination and embraced equality,” the
group said.
The government also approved a law that
prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in the areas of
employment and public services. Violators face up to two years in
prison.
Gay sex remains a crime in most African
nations.