Global LGBT Rights: Opportunities and Challenges in Sri Lanka
Date: Wednesday 4 May 2016 at 6pm
Location: Mayer Brown, 201 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3AF
Register for free entry to this event
The UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group and the Bar Human Rights Committee have announced a special event to explore the situation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) around the world, with a special focus on Sri Lanka and the role the UK Government can play in promoting LGBT rights.
At least 75 countries continue to criminalise homosexuality with 40 of the 53 member states of the Commonwealth using legislation inherited from the British Empire. In Sri Lanka, homosexual acts are punishable by up to ten years imprisonment. In 2015, and after three decades of civil war, a new administration was elected and raised the possibility of a radical change in leadership including progress in equality for LGBT people.
Join us to meet leading Sri Lankan activists Rosanna Flamer-Caldera and Aritha Wickramasinghe. We will also explore how the UK can best work to promote LGBT rights globally with Lord Cashman and Paul Dillane.
Panellists:
Rosanna Flamer-Caldera is an internationally respected activist based in Sri Lanka. Active in LGBT rights since her time living in San Francisco in the 1970s, she is the executive director of EQUAL GROUND, a non-profit organisation for LGBT Sri Lankans.
Aritha Wickramasinghe is a Sri Lankan activist and an associate lawyer at K&L Gates. Aritha has spearheaded a number of initiatives and pro bono projects promoting equality, human rights and specifically LGBT rights.
Lord Michael Cashman is one of the UK’s leading LGBT and equality activists. A former actor, he was a founder of Stonewall and a Member of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2014. In 2014, Michael was appointed to the House of Lords.
Paul Dillane is the executive director of the UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG), a human rights charity dedicated to supporting LGBT asylum seekers and refugees.
Chair: Kirsty Brimelow QC is chairwoman of the Bar Human Rights Committee and a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers.
The event will be followed by a reception with wine and canapes generously sponsored by Mayer Brown LLP.
Entry is free and open to all. Please register here to confirm your attendance.
