Nicholas Toonen v. Australia
31 March 1994
(Communication No. 488/1992), UN Doc. A/49/40, Vol. II (1994), Annex IX, sect. EE (pp. 226-237)
Subject:
Article 2 (1) Article 17 (1), Article 26 - equality before the law, discrimination on the ground of sex or other status - sexual orientation, unlawful interference with one's privacy, arbitrary interference with one's privacy:
Evaluation of a Tasmanian law criminalizing sexual relations between consenting males.
Conclusion:
Violation of Article 17 (1) in conjunction with Article 2 (1): The Human Rights Committee found that Tasmanian law criminalizing sexual relations between consenting males violates Mr. Toonen's right to privacy under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It noted in Paragraph 8.7 of its views, that the reference to "sex" in Article 26 and in Article 2 (1) included sexual orientation. However after the Human Rights Committee had found a violation of Mr. Toonen's rights under Articles 17 (1) and Article 2 (1), it did not see a necessity to consider whether there has also been a violation of Article 26 of the Covenant.
(Paragraphs 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 9, 11)