OutSummit “Pushing the Boundaries of LGBTIQ Activism”
A Global Summit for the Human Rights of LGBTIQ People happening this Saturday, 7 December, 2019 in New York.
Incredible progress in the recognition and promotion of the human rights of LGBTIQ people has been seen around the globe in recent years. Over the last year alone Angola, Botswana and Bhutan have decriminalized same-sex relations. Taiwan, the Cayman Islands and Ecuador legalized same-sex marriage. The World Health Organization removed “gender identity disorder” from the International Classification of Diseases.
But there have also been significant setbacks. The anti-gender movement has gained ground. The rights of trans people are coming under increasing attack. Right-wing civil society opposed to gender and LGBTIQ equality has expanded their work geographically and in the corridors of the UN. A bid to decriminalize same-sex relations in Kenya failed. To name a few.
The context we are working in is becoming increasingly polarized. This is a time when pushing the boundaries of LGBTIQ activism is absolutely crucial to ensuring that the hard-won battles for equality do not backslide, enabling us to continue taking steps towards achieving a world in which we can live free from discrimination, harassment and violence purely for being the gender we are, and loving whom we do.
Every day around the world, LGBTIQ people’s human rights and dignity are abused in ways that shock the conscience. The stories of their struggles and their resilience are astounding, yet remain unknown—or willfully ignored—by those with the power to make change. OutRight Action International, founded in 1990 as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, works alongside LGBTIQ people in the Global South, with offices in six countries, to help identify community-focused solutions to promote policy for a lasting change. We vigilantly monitor and document human rights abuses to spur action when they occur. We train partners to expose abuses and advocate for themselves. Headquartered in New York City, OutRight is the only global LGBTIQ-specific organization with a permanent presence at the United Nations in New York that advocates for human rights progress for LGBTIQ people.
The event is co-organized by the Sorensen Center for International Peace and Justice and CUNY School of Law.
Speakers include
Victor Madrigal-Borloz – the United Nations Independent Expert on protection from violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identit
Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile – groundbreaking Trans* ARTivist from Botswana
Neish McLean – co-founder of TransWave Jamaica, Vice-Chair of the United Caribbean Trans Network and Caribbean Program Officer at OutRight Action International
Jennifer Lu – Chief Coordinator of Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan and long-term worker of the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association
More info on this and the rest of the work OutRight are involved with here:
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