Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Right	Section	Contents
Freedom of Association	History	Chapter III, Article 14 of the Constitution adopted in 1978, allows for freedom of Association along with freedoms of speech, assembly, occupation, and movement. Section 1.c-g covers the circumstances of freedom of association. CIA World Factbook. Sri Lanka. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sri-lanka/#government Constitute Project. Constitution of Sri Lanka 1978. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Sri_Lanka_2015?lang=en
Freedom of Expression	History	Freedom of expression was first protected in Sri Lanka’s 1973 Constitution. Article 18 (1)(g) specifically defines this right, as well as some limitations to it based on public interests. “Constitution of Sri Lanka (Ceylon).” The Parliament of Sri Lanka. Accessed July 13, 2023. https://www.parliament.lk/files/ca/4.%20The%20Constitution%20of%20Sri%20Lanka%20%20-%20%201972%20(Article%20105%20%E2%80%93134)%20Chapter%20XIII.pdf
Freedom of Religion	History	The Constitution provides freedom of thought and religion. It recognizes four religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam). It also designates Buddhism as the state religion, thus giving it priority (U.S. Department of State, " 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom: Sri Lanka").
Freedom of the Press	History	Chapter IV of the 1972 Sri Lankan Constitution first protected press freedom: “every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, including publication" (Parliament of Sri Lanka, "The Constitution of Sri Lanka (Ceylon)"). Article 14 of Sri Lanka’s 1978 Constitution protects press freedom: “Every citizen is entitled to…the freedom of speech and expression including publication" Constitute Project, “Sri Lanka’s Constitution of 1978 with Amendments through 2015” ).
Privacy Rights	History	Sri Lanka’s constitution does not protect the right to privacy, though privacy is mentioned briefly in Article 14A(2) (Constitute Project, “Sri Lanka 1978 rev. 2015” ). Sri Lanka is also lacking comprehensive privacy legislation, instead opting to write in provisions when regulating other industries (Data Guidance, “Sri Lanka – Data Protection Overview”). https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Sri_Lanka_ 2015? lang=en https://www.dataguidance.com/notes/sri-lanka-data-protection-overview
Voting Rights and Suffrage	History	Under Article 88 of Sri Lanka’s Constitution, all adult citizens have the right to elect the President and Members of the Parliament, as well as vote on a referendum, as long as they are registered to vote and are over the age of 18. (Constitute Project, “Sri Lanka’s Constitution of 1978 with Amendments through 2015” ).