To mark its ninth annual symposium, Fordham Law’s OUTLaws student association is bringing together those involved in the international human rights system to discuss the state of LGBTQIA+ identity around the world and how regional organizers are tackling issues pertaining to anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. The symposium, “International LGBTQIA+ Rights: Bridging Activism from Grassroots to Global Organizations,” will be held in a hybrid format from 11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Friday, March 25.
The regression of LGBTQIA+ rights has been an “unsettling trend” over the last few years and has harmed individuals, families, and communities globally, according to this year’s OUTLaws speaker and symposium chair, Georgianna Bonondona ’23. “Every area of the world has been touched by some sort of criminalization of LGBTQIA+ rights,” she said. “We want to emphasize regional voices and how they’re tackling these issues in their own countries, as well as the larger nongovernmental organizations who are either helping to support those efforts, working with the United Nations, or bringing awareness to this at the larger human rights system levels.”
“We recognize this is a global trend that is prevalent and not going away any time soon, but, luckily, we have a remarkable group of panelists who have dedicated their lives’ work to these issues, regionally and internationally,” Bonondona said. “So often, as law students, we feel a little bit helpless in the face of these larger issues of discrimination, especially in the international field, and that there’s no way for us to really get involved. I hope this event will show the possibility of getting involved and that people are doing this work.”
Symposium committee members Katherine Maguire ’24, Mayu Tobin-Miyaji ’24, Zach Roberge ’24, and Juliann Susas ’24 helped Bonondona research this year’s event. The symposium is presented in conjunction with the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice.
What to Expect
A dozen organizers, activists, and attorneys of different backgrounds and expertise from across the country and around the world will be participating in the daylong event.
“We have panelists from all over the globe speaking, including speakers from Nairobi, Poland, Uganda, and Brazil,” Bonondona said. “As frustrating as COVID-19 has been for so many of us and how we all want to get back to some semblance of normalcy, this [hybrid symposium]is a great opportunity for us to bring all these speakers together.”
The first panel will focus on the current global trend of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, as regional experts explain why this type of legislation has become popular and what can be done to combat it. The second panel will segue into ways regional and international organizations and activists can work together on LGBTQIA+ issues. Lawyers working within the international human rights system will speak to the history of LGBTQIA+ rights and their current work at the international level during the third and final panel.
Symposium Agenda
Welcome Remarks (11–11:30 a.m.)
- Dean Matthew Diller, Dean and Paul Fuller Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
- Brandon Small, OUTLaws President, Fordham University School of Law
- Georgianna Bonondona, OUTLaws Speaker and Symposium Chair, Fordham University School of Law
Panel 1: Regression of Rights: Countries Taking Contemporary Anti-LGBTQIA+ Legislative Measures and Why (11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m.)
- Joy Chia, Executive Director, Astraea
- Adrian Jjuuko, Ugandan Human Rights Lawyer and Advocate; Executive Director, Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum
- Igor Ostrowski, Partner, Dentons
- Nadine Smith, Co-founder and CEO, Equality Florida
Moderated by Elisabeth Wickeri, Executive Director, Leitner Center for International Law and Justice; Adjunct Professor, Fordham University School of Law
Panel 2: Domestic Voices on the International Field: How NGOs, the HRC, and Grassroots Organizations Can Collaborate on LGBTQIA+ Issues (1–2:15 p.m.)
- Devon Matthews, Rainbow Railroad
- Zuleika Rivera, LGBTI Program Officer, International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
- Linx Alexander Arango Schmitt, Panamanian Trans and Human Rights Activist; Co-founder, Gen=
- Dominique St. Vil, Executive and Administrative Director, Organisation Trans d’Haiti (OTRAH) Haiti
Moderated by Jennifer Gordon, Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
Panel 3: The History of SOGI and the Human Rights Systems: Exploring the Ways in which the HRC and the Regional Human Rights Systems Have Emphasized SOGI/LGBTQIA+ Issues (3–4:15 p.m.)
- Giovanna Gilleri, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Departmental Centre for Law and Pluralism, University of Milan-Bicocca (Italy)
- Fanny Cata Gomez Lugo, Senior Director of Campaigns and Advocacy Programs, Women’s Equality Center
- Sahar Moazami, UN Program Officer, OutRight Action International
- Yvee Oduor, Operations Manager, Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya
Moderated by Paolo Galizzi, Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Sustainable Development Legal Initiative, Fordham University School of Law
Closing Remarks (4:15 p.m.)
How to Attend
OUTLaw’s Ninth Annual Symposium, “International LGBTQIA+ Rights: Bridging Activism from Grassroots to Global Organizations,” will be held in a hybrid format on Friday, March 25, from 11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Four-and-a-half CLE credits will be available. Registration is still open.
Fordham Law students, alumni, faculty, and staff can attend the event in person at Bateman Room.
Attendees can also submit their questions to the 2022 OUTLaws Symposium moderators and panelists via this form before March 25.