Brunei

New criminal laws in Brunei that impose the death penalty for same-sex relationships, adultery and childbirth out of marriage, “breach international human rights norms”, and should be suspended or repealed said the heads of two United Nations agencies on Thursday.

Proposed changes to Brunei’s penal code to incorporate punishments under a strict interpretation of Islamic law - including death by stoning - should be halted, the UN’s top human rights official, Michelle Bachelet, said on Monday.

Brunei Darussalam today became the 191st member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the specialized agency founded in1945 to serve as a laboratory of ideas, a standard-setter for universal accords on ethical issues and a clearinghouse for sharing information and knowledge.