3. 7. 1. 3. Meeting with Civil Society and Newly Appointed Commission A meeting with Civil Society was held by the newly appointed Human Rights Commission on 16th November 2015 at which the Commission consulted Civil Society representatives on their concerns and the Commission’s future activities Civil Society. 3. 7. 2. Redress to Transgender Persons A discussion was held on 22th May 2015 between HRCSL and Civil Society who work on LGBTIQ rights such as Heart to Heart and Equal Ground. During the discussion they placed before the Commission issues of concern to them, specially legal and procedural issues relating to changing the sex in transgender persons’ legal documentation such as birth certificate, national identity card and passport. Another discussion was held on 16th June 2015 with relevant government authorities, such as the Department of Registrar General, Department of Registration of Persons, Department of Immigrations and Emigration, Department of Health and Department of Police. Since then the HRCSL continued discussions with the Ministry of Health, the Department of Registrar General and Civil Society regarding the gender certificate, which was formulated by the HRCSL to enable change of sex in personal documentation. In 2015 the HRCSL recommended to the Ministry of Health to issue a circular to enable transgender persons to change their sex in their personal documentation. 3. 7. 3. Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders The HRCSL observed the necessity of preparing guidelines to state authorities to protect Human Rights Defenders. The Guideline was prepared and submitted to Civil Society Working Committee for their comments. Civil Society Working Committee requested the Commission to have discussions at regional level as well. The Division had 6 regional consultations. (Jaffna – 13th May 2015, Vavuniya– 09th July 2015, Anuradhapura– 10th July 2015, Trincomalee– 10th June 2015, Kandy– 16th September 2015, Batticaloa– 27th May 2015). 28