Another small step in the right direction for Asia

It’s hard to imagine that there are still governments who punish people for who they love. Fortunately, Sri Lanka has plans to decriminalize same-sex relationships. The announcement comes after the United Nations criticized the Sri Lankan penal system for criminalizing homosexuality.

After the country’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR)—a process where countries within the UN have their human rights records examined by other UN member states—Nerin Pulle, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Solicitor General, has pledged to change the penal code in Sri Lanka.

To help combat discrimination that LGBTQ+ citizens face, the Sri Lankan government received seven specific recommendations which included the decriminalization of homosexuality. As of now, being in a same-sex relationship is punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

Pulle said the Sri Lankan government “is committed to ensuring that no provision in the law would be applied to persons of the LGBTQ+ community in a discriminatory manner.”

The executive director of Sri Lanka’s leading LGBTQ+ organization Equal Ground, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, commended the government’s commitment to reforming the Penal Code and amending the Constitution to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity in protections from discrimination.

Although the concerns and recommendations over the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community are appreciated, individuals face plenty of obstacles from a Sri Lankan government that, until the law changes have been applied, currently criminalizes homosexuality.