cook islands

The Cook Islands will hold its first Pride Day this month, as the country’s LGBTIQ community fights to have homosexuality decriminalised. In 2017, the Cook Islands Parliament removed “indecent acts between men” and “sodomy” from a draft Crimes Bill. However, in November the government backflipped and reinstated the clause to the draft Bill after pressure …

Politicians in the Cook Islands have backtracked on decriminalising homosexuality in the Pacific nation, reportedly under pressure from church leaders. Two years ago, the Cook Islands Parliament was praised for removing “indecent acts between men” and “sodomy” from a draft Crimes Bill. But last weekend the chairman of a committee, Tingika Elikana, said the government …