UN women’s rights committee rules that criminalisation of same-sex intimacy between women is a human rights violation

In a landmark decision released today, a UN women’s rights committee found that the criminalisation of consensual, same-sex intimacy between women is a human rights violation.

The decision in a case brought by Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, Executive Director of EQUAL GROUND, the main LGBT organisation in Sri Lanka, with the support of the Human Dignity Trust, sets a major legal precedent, holding that the criminalisation of lesbian and bisexual women violates the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) said that the Sri Lankan authorities have subjected Ms Flamer-Caldera to gender-based discrimination and violence, and had not taken any legal or other measures to respect and protect her right to a life free from gender-based violence, or to eliminate the prejudices to which she has been exposed as a woman, lesbian and activist.

The Committee urged Sri Lanka to decriminalise same-sex sexual activity. It also requested that the State take immediate and effective action to stop the threats, harassment and abuse, which Ms Flamer-Caldera has been subjected to and ensure that she and EQUAL GROUND can carry out their activism safely and freely. Additionally, the Committee pressed Sri Lanka to pursue criminal processes to hold those responsible for her abuse to account.

The Committee held Sri Lanka in violation of article 2(a) and (c)-(g) and 5(a), 7(c), 15 and 16 read in conjunction with article 1 of the Convention, and in light of general recommendations no 19, 33 and 35. The decision is also significant with respect to the admissibility criteria before the Committee.

Rosanna Flamer-Caldera was represented by the Human Dignity Trust, Professor Christine Chinkin, Karon Monaghan QC, Dr Keina Yoshida and DLA Piper.