A move to decriminalise gay sex in the Cook Islands is a welcome step but LGBTQ+ people in the Pacific Islands region still lack basic rights and risk discrimination – or worse – at every turn, activists say. Lawmakers in the tiny island nation of 15,000 people passed a bill on April 14 to decriminalise same-sex sexual relations, a crime punishable by up to seven years in prison, although the law was rarely, if ever, enforced. The measure is expected to become law on June 1. Announcing his support for the change in parliament, Prime Minister Mark Brown said the law outlawing homosexual activity – a vestige of British colonial rule – was “a discriminatory and unjust law that goes against our constitution and our values as a nation”.