The Sri Lankan Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has admitted for the first time this month that its constitution protects people from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Representatives of the government made the admission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee after being questioned on the issue.

‘Please indicate the measures taken to protect persons from stigmatization and discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity, and indicate whether they are protected by the constitutional provisions on non-discrimination,’ Sri Lanka was asked by the OHCHR Experts Committee.

Representatives of the Sri Lankan Government responded that, ‘Article 12 of the Constitution [of Sri Lanka] recognizes non-discrimination based on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion, place of birth or any one of such grounds as a Fundamental Right.’

‘This measure protects persons from stigmatization and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identities.’

When asked by the Experts Committee how specifically they were protected, Bimba Jayasinghe Thilakeratne, Additional Solicitor General with the Sri Lankan Attorney General’s Department, said ‘Article 12.1 ensures equality for sexual orientation and gender identity.’

‘Article 12.2 Laws discriminating on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity are unconstitutional.’

However she denied that Sri Lanka’s colonial era anti-sodomy law was discriminatory against LGBTI people.

‘Sections 365 and 365A of the Penal code do not target any particular group but is there to protect public morality,’ she said.

Sri Lanka’s penal code outlaw ‘gross indecency’ but has not specified the gender of the parties involved since 1999 and does not define what gross indecency is.

Article 12.1 of the Sri Lankan Constitution states that ‘all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law.’

Article 12.2 states that ‘no citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion, place of birth or any one of such ground.’

The move by the Sri Lankan Government has been welcomed by LGBTI human rights groups in both Sri Lanka and the region.

‘We are extremely pleased with this outcome and applaud the government for clarifying the interpretations of the Constitution and the law regarding SOGI in Sri Lanka,’ Sri Lanka LGBTI group Equal Ground said in a statement.

‘While this may not rain sunshine for the LGBTIQ community just yet, there is now at least, a sense of hope things will start changing in Sri Lanka and that the LGBTIQ community will be able to hold their heads a bit higher as the days go by.

‘We also urge the Government to open dialog with the LGBTIQ community, particularly those advocating for better treatment and equality for LGBTIQ individuals in this country and put in place, nondiscriminatory laws and statutes that will protect our community.’

Human rights group Kaleidoscope Australia helped Equal Ground submit one of its shadow reports to the UN and its president, Dr Paula Gerber, thanked the Sri Lankan Government for defining where it stood on the issue.

‘We congratulate the Sri Lankan Government for acknowledging that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is unconstitutional,’ Dr Gerber said.

‘While it is disappointing that the Sri Lankan Government did not address the ongoing criminalization of homosexual conduct (both men and women), the official response nevertheless marks a significant change in tone, which will hopefully in turn lead to further reform.’