New Delhi, Feb. 25: The International Commission of Jurists, a Geneva-based body of legal experts, has urged the Indian government to repeal the penal code's Section 377 that criminalises all forms of "unnatural sex" with a provision for punishment that could go up to life in prison.

In a report released here today, the ICJ recommended that Indian authorities end discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity in the formal justice system.

"Repeal Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and vaguely worded criminal laws that invite discriminatory application, or substantially revise them to ensure there is no scope for abuse in their enforcement," the report said.

The 60-page report - Unnatural Offences: Obstacles to Justice in India Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity - documents the challenges "queer persons" in the country often face. The term "queer" has been used to refer to anyone who identifies with a non-normative sexuality or gender identity.

The ICJ said its study was based on 150 interviews across nine cities, including with people identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) and those who may not fit any of these categories. It said most such people face problems while trying to access justice, starting from the impact of laws to police harassment and discrimination.

"Criminalisation, police violence, and the prejudiced attitudes of officials... have a profoundly detrimental impact on the ability and willingness of queer persons to resort to legal avenues to obtain justice," Sam Zarifi, the ICJ's Asia director, said.

"The systemic discrimination and violence faced by queer persons in India, and the challenges they face accessing justice, are clearly contrary to India's international human rights law obligations and the Indian Constitution."

Some of the other recommendations the report has made are:

• Ensure that police officers promptly register and investigate any complaint regarding violence or any other criminal act filed by a queer person and/or on their behalf; and

• Provide legal and sensitisation training relating to sexual orientation and gender identity to lawyers and judges under the State and District Legal Services Authority along with outreach programmes to facilitate queer individuals' access to the justice system.

The ICJ said Indian authorities had an "obligation" to "respect, protect and fulfil" the rights to equality before the law and freedom from discrimination; including the right to life, freedom from torture and "other ill-treatment" of "queer persons".