Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Palau may face legal and social challenges not faced by non-LGBT people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

since 23 July 2014, when the current Penal Code took effect, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

is constitutionally banned, and there are no anti-discrimination laws concerning

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

and

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...

. In 2011, Palau signed the " joint statement on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity" at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, condemning violence and discrimination against LGBT people.

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

After recommendations from other countries at the

Universal Periodic Review The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) that emerged from the 2005 UN reform process.resolution 60/251of 3 April 2006, the UPR periodically examines the human rights performance of al ...

in October 2011, the Palauan Government promised to fully decriminalise homosexuality. In April 2014, President

Tommy Remengesau Jr. Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr. (born 28 February 1956) is a Palauan politician; in 2013 he was elected the ninth president of Palau and was re-elected to that office in 2016. Previously he served as the seventh president of the island nat ...

signed into law the new Penal Code, which does not contain provisions outlawing consensual sex between people of the same sex. The Penal Code took effect on 23 July 2014. Previously, male same-sex sexual activity was illegal and punishable by up to ten years in prison; however, female same-sex activity was legal.State-sponsored Homophobia A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Palau's Constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The same-sex marriage ban was added to the Constitution in 2008. The ban was among the 22 amendments passed during the November 4, 2008 referendum. In recent times, there have been moves to repeal the constitution ban on same-sex marriage. In July 2019, in response to a question at a weekly press conference about his thoughts on the issue,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

said he supports striking down the ban, saying he believes in full equality, branding it discriminatory, "Those who are different doesn't mean that they should be outcast, second class citizens, or that they can't contribute to the community. So I want to make it clear that I don't believe in the constitutional amendment that promote discrimination. I want it to be on record that I support the rights of each individual, any Palauan, to be treated equally... Let us treat each other with respect and dignity. This won't be positive for us at the UN level as the trend worldwide is opening up to these individual rights, but we are taking a step backward." Remengesau finished his statements, with "as long as they believe in God like everyone else, we can treat each other with respect and dignity". Local activists applauded his comments, calling it a "very surprising and progressive act".

Living conditions

Open displays of affection between same-sex partners may offend. In Palauan, the terms (which literally translates to ''carrying a large driftwood'') and (''banana eater'') refer to homosexual men. They are considered derogatory.Palauan-English, ''M''
/ref> Several gay Palauans have chosen to emigrate to neighboring

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

or the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

due to societal rejection they may face at home.

Summary table

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lgbt Rights In Palau LGBT in Palau Politics of Palau Human rights in Palau

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Living conditions

Summary table

See also

References