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Mauritius

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

October 2023

Mauritius’s Supreme Court decriminalises gay sex

On 4 October, Mauritius’ Supreme Court delivered a judgement de-criminalising same-sex relations in the country. In its decision, the Court found that the colonial-era law prohibiting ‘sodomy’ breached a constitutional protection against discrimination and ruled that it should be interpreted to exclude consensual sexual intercourse between male adults. While the court noted that the law is ‘rarely, if ever’ enforced against gay men, it found that the threat of arrest, prosecution and conviction had a very significant impact on them, entrenching stigma and encouraging discrimination. The ruling was welcomed by the UN and rights organisations.

Sources: The Supreme Court of Mauritius, The Conversation, Human Dignity Trust, United Nations  

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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023

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Representation
74/173
Rights
67/173
Rule of Law
78/173
Participation
32/173

Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
1 261 041
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth (since 2017)
Head of government party
Militant Socialist Movement
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Block Vote
Women in lower or single chamber
20.0%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2019
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.48
Head of state
President Prithvirajsing Roopun
Selection process for head of state
Indirect election (assembly)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
24/01/2024
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
67%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
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Representation neutral Rights
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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
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Global State of Democracy Indices

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Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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