The speaker of parliament announced on Tuesday that the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka had approved a bill that sought to decriminalise homosexuality. Campaigners praised the decision as a “historic development”
In Sri Lanka, where homosexuality is still punishable by a prison sentence and a fine, LGBTQ+ rights advocates have been fighting for years to reform the legislation. As a result, a private member’s bill was recently introduced in parliament.
Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said the Supreme Court decided it was not illegal after hearing more than a dozen petitions on both sides of the issue.
“The Supreme Court is of the opinion that the bill as a whole or as any provision thereof is not inconsistent with the constitution,” the speaker told parliament.
The decision is seen as a “historic development that has created hope towards real change,” said Kaveesha Coswatte, an attorney-at-law and advocacy officer for iProbono in Sri Lanka, which supported many of the petitions backing the bill.
Activists will still have to lobby for support from the 225 parliamentarians to push forward the proposed legislation through parliament.
Neither the government nor the opposition have made any comment on whether they support the bill, proposed for consideration by an individual member of parliament, so the next steps for it to eventually become legislation, or not, are not yet clear.
“But the door is finally open. This Supreme Court decision is major for the community in terms of any kind of progress they have seen over the last couple of years,” Coswatte added.