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Reuters | | Posted by Sreelakshmi B
Sri LankaThe Supreme Court has approved a bill aimed at decriminalizing homosexuality, a parliamentary speaker said on Tuesday, a move hailed by campaigners as a “historic development”.
LGBTQ activists in Sri Lanka have been working for years to change laws in a country where homosexuality is still punishable. (HT file photo)
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LGBTQ rights Activists in Sri Lanka have been working for years to change laws in the country, where homosexuality is still punishable by prison terms and fines, leading to the introduction of a private member’s bill in parliament last month.
The Speaker of Parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, said the Supreme Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional after hearing a dozen petitions from both sides of the argument.
“The Supreme Court is of the view that the Act as a whole or any of its provisions is not unconstitutional,” the speaker told parliament.
Kaveesha Coswatte, a lawyer and advocacy officer for iProbono in Sri Lanka, which supported a number of petitions in support of the bill, said the decision was seen as a “historic development that creates hope for real change”.
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Activists will still have to lobby the support of the 225 lawmakers to push the proposed legislation through parliament.
Neither the government nor the opposition made any comment on whether they supported the bill, which was brought up for consideration by a member of Congress, so next steps for it to eventually become legislation were unclear.
“But the door is finally open. This Supreme Court decision is significant for any progress the community has made over the past few years,” Koswat added.
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