The Clash Between Human Rights and Morality

Abstract

In countries where same-sex relationships are criminalised, the rights of LGBT persons are not considered human rights. This clash between human rights and criminal law on the one hand, and the clash between morality (and/or culture) and human rights, on the other hand, has been the subject of debates in the last 10 years. Given the argument to consider sexual minority rights as not human rights in several commonwealth states, this chapter adopts the doctrinal method of legal research to examine the rationale put forward for continued criminalisation and politicisation of sex or love amongst persons of the same gender in certain jurisdictions. The argument here is that without an understanding of why society attaches moral values to certain laws, change is difficult to implement.