What is happening in Brunei?The anti-LGBT law that stones people to death

Writer : Jordan McCarthy, Grade 11

One of the many crises occurring in our world today is happening in Brunei. Brunei is located on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Brunei follows the idea’s of an absolute monarchy and is lead by Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan. Up until 1984, Brunei was under the rule of the United Kingdom and Japan. Japanese occupation ended in 1945, and independence from the United Kingdome occurred in 1984. Finally, on January 7, 1984, the ASEAN Declaration was pronounced and Brunei was now self-ruled.

Hassanal Bolkiah has strong opinions toward homosexuals and believes that they should be stoned to death. Stoning is a method of capital punishment where a group of people throw stones at a person until they die from blunt trauma. Stoning is a legal punishment in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somali, Brunei and many more. Brunei claims that the stoning law is made to “educate and nurture,” and discourage those who are gay. Only men face the stoning punishment for being gay, whereas women have a punishment of one hundred lashes. Lastly, anyone who chooses to dress accordingly to the opposite gender may face limb amputations.

In response, Erywan Yusof, minister of foreign affairs, sent a letter to UN rights officials stating the penalties focus “more on prevention than punishment.” This outlines how Bolkiah primarily is focussing on the elimination of homosexuals due to his personal opinion rather than punishing others for the sake of benefiting their country. Celebrities including George Clooney, Ellen Degeneres, Elton John and other Los Angeles officials have also fought back against this law being passed. The Sultan owns property in the lavish enclaves of Kensington and Ascot. That is where he has his luxurious hotels and polo parks. The Sultan also shares is a leading tech fund and is given assistance from auditing firms, only increasing his power over others. Many people have protested to boycott the hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, including the Dorchester in London and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

The Sultan claims that this sharia-influenced law is “counter to its international human rights obligations, including with respect to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” This left many people in shock and protesting against this law being passed, and once again degraded and defeated the rights of humans. This case is important as people like the Sultan oppress those who chose to freely be themselves. The world is made to be diverse, and all people should be appreciated and acknowledged for being who they want to be.

Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah