World’s newest country off to bad start on LGBT rights By Paul Canning July 14, 2011 South Sudan, the world’s newest country, was proclaimed 11 July and its President, Salva Kiir Mayardit has declared that his promise of equality would not be extended to lesbians and gays. South Sudan was formerly subject to the Sudanese interpretation of Sharia law, under which homosexual activity was illegal, with punishments ranging from lashes to the death penalty. In 2003 the government of what was Image by martha_jean via Flicthen called “New Sudan” adopted its own penal code, and in 2008 the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan adopted a replacement penal code. Both codes prohibited sodomy. In May 2010 Mayardit spoke of a New Sudan where “all citizens” enjoy “equal rights” in a country based on “democracy, equality and justice”. But Mayardit said that LGBT recognition was “not in our character.” “It is not

By Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com June 2010 Also see: Gay Sudan News & Reports 2004 to Present Freedom Sudan Gay life in Sudan is virtually non-existant from an observer’s eye. Deeply Muslim (in the north) and very conservative, the laws against same-sex behavior are severe. Nevertheless, a gay-focused website was launched in December 2006 called Freedom Sudan-the Sudanese LGBT Association. On their website it says: "Freedom Sudan is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organization in Sudan. Our status is illegal. Homosexual behavior is illegal in Sudan and homosexuals facing the death penalty. That’s why our organization was formed in secret and all our activities are carried out secretly, hoping that one day we will get accepted in our communities and even in our families, and hope that we can be Free to be the way we are. Freedom Sudan is an organization run by volunteers only. "Our main goals