President Martn Torrijos Espino issued a decree on July 29, 2008 to repeal a 1949 law that criminalised sodomy with imprisonment.
The document, which was issued in Spanish, cited the country's sexual health and HIV/AIDS policy to respect and not discriminate against the "sexual preferences of each person."
The former British colony's population of 3.3 million people is predominantly Roman Catholic. [Correction, Aug 16: Panama is as readers pointed out a former Spanish colony, not British. We apologise for the error.]
According to The International Lesbian and Gay Association, same-sex sexual relations is banned in the Caribbean region including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago - all of which are former British colonies. Nicaragua approved a new penal code that decriminalised consensual gay sex in November last year.
In Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico City and the Mexican state of Coahuila, and Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, same-sex couples can have their relationships recognised by civil unions laws.
For more info on what's happening in Latin American: click on to The gay map of Latin America.
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Reader's Comments
My dear editor, before writing about a country, why dont you make a little research?
Panama was an Spanish colony from 1501 to 1821. Then, it belonged to Colombia, from which it became independent in 1903.
Colombia and Costa Rica are their neighbours, and not those small islands you mention, you only need to have a look at a map...
If they had been bristish colonies they still would have laws like section 377 in India. Thanks God this is not the case...
Panama more developed and civilised than Singapore and Malaysia.
Suck on that. :-) (Oh no, you can't, it's illegal)
Thanks for your clarification. When I read the article, I was shocked that the UK has so many colonies. Thank God it is Fridae's mistake.
We have enough UK colonies please...Fridae. I think people who lived in former UK colonies are too discriminated by the penal code and think everywhere having an anti-gay law is from the UK!
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