BANGKOK: Same-sex relationships are no longer punishable by law on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. The parliament of the South Sea nation, which has about 17,000 inhabitants, approved a corresponding law on Monday.

Previously, homosexual acts could be punished with prison sentences of up to five years. Prime Minister Mark Brown spoke in a Facebook post of a "historic day" in parliament. He said his government had fulfilled its promise to "end discrimination against the LGBT community in our society."

Members of the LGBTQI community celebrated the move. Other island states in Oceania, however, still maintain laws against homosexuals that were enacted under colonial rule, including Samoa, Tonga and the Solomon Islands.

The Cook Islands archipelago is located between New Zealand and Hawaii and consists of 15 islands. The largest of these is Rarotonga where the capital Avarua is situated.