Spain: Government Agreement: Lesbian couples will no longer have to marry to be mothers
The Government agreement signed by the PSOE and Unidas Podemos undertakes to establish recognition of parenthood of all lesbian couples and provides legal protection to new stable forms of coexistence
Germany: Successful constitutional complaint concerning the equal treatment of marriage and registered civil partnership in the area of occupational retirement provision for employees of the public service
See also: https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=35146&pk_campaign=Nwsl
Sofia, born into a rainbow family with Irish and Polish mums, is stuck in Spain because both countries refuse to give her citizenship.
Croatia Court Rules Same-sex Couple Can Foster Children
After a long legal battle, a Croatian court has said that a same-sex couple have the right to become foster parents – a ruling that campaigning groups have termed ‘historic’.
https://balkaninsight.com/2019/12/20/croatia-court-rules-same-sex-couple-can-foster-children/
Belize’s appeal courts just unanimously ruled that gay sex is definitely legal
A German trans man underwent mandatory sterilisation to legally transition. Now he wants justice
Judgments of 18th December 2019 regarding the the complete transcription in France of the foreign birth certificate of the child born through surrogacy.
https://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/premiere_chambre_civile_568/111_18_44102.html
https://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/premiere_chambre_civile_568/112_18_44103.html
Judgment of 18th December 2019 concerning a couple of women who went through medically assisted procreation; this judgment opens the way for children born under assisted procreation to have the name of their two mothers mentioned on their birth certificate :
https://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/premiere_chambre_civile_568/113_18_44101.html
Courtesy of Caroline Mecary
UN Official Nils Melzer Equates Chelsea Manning Incarceration to Torture
Nils Melzer, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on torture, stated in his letter that coercive jail sentences like those imposed on Manning amount to torture under international law and called for Manning’s release.
Prosecutors and the judge have said that Manning faces the same obligations as all citizens to comply with lawful subpoenas and that she can end her jail term at any time by agreeing to testify.
US Ambassador to Zambia forced to leave country after confronting government over jailing of gay couple
The SOGICA project is pleased to announce a call for submissions for its final conference taking place at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK on 7-8 July 2020. The conference will:
• present the SOGICA project findings and recommendations;
• give a platform to academics, policy makers, practitioners, activists and refugees addressing sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) asylum in innovative ways;
• foster interdisciplinary, cross-sector and international engagement between individuals with an interest in this topic, including those most directly involved as asylum claimants in European countries.
About the project
‘SOGICA – Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum: A European human rights challenge’ is a four-year project (2016-2020) funded by the European Research Council (ERC). Based in the School of Law at the University of Sussex, it will produce the necessary evidence base for a more just and humane asylum process for individuals seeking refuge in Europe on the basis of their SOGI.
Considering the frequently unfair treatment of SOGI asylum claims, the disproportionately high refusal rate, and the particular difficulties in establishing SOGI claims (in particular concerning credibility, relocation and discretion), the project addresses the following questions:
• How have European countries incorporated SOGI related human rights violations into asylum policies?
• How do these violations constitute, and how are they seen to constitute, causes of asylum requests?
• How are SOGI related asylum claims legally adjudicated at domestic, EU and Council of Europe levels?
• Does the legal adjudication of SOGI related asylum claims influence claimants’ identity and integration in the host society and community of fellow nationals/ethnic group? If so, how?
• How can domestic, EU and Council of Europe legal frameworks adjudicate SOGI related asylum claims more fairly?
We welcome submissions on a range of relevant topics, including, but not restricted to:
• The SOGICA project questions above;
• Country of origin factors;
• Social integration of SOGI asylum claimants and refugees;
• Roles of different actors at international, regional and national level, including United Nations, Council of Europe, European Union, domestic asylum authorities, NGOs and support groups;
• Theoretical approaches to SOGI asylum, including those building on queer theory, feminism, human rights, intersectionality and homonationalism;
• Practical work presenting new ways of addressing specific group and individual needs;
• Interpreting and SOGI asylum;
• SOGI asylum in the context of asylum reforms and policies, including externalisation of migration controls, at EU, German, Italian and UK level;
• Comparative work on SOGI asylum policies and experiences in different European states – including the SOGICA project fieldwork countries of Germany, Italy and the UK – and beyond;
• Methodological analysis, including ethical issues in relation to research with SOGI claimants;
• Social experiences of SOGI claimants, including the role of place and space;
• ‘Vulnerability’ and SOGI claims;
• Activism and lobbying in the field of SOGI asylum.
Proposals can take the form of individual oral presentations, panels or thematic sessions, posters, workshops, dramatic and interactive sessions. You may also be able to give a paper via Skype, depending on conference space and project resources. Exhibition space will be available at the conference, details of which will be published on our website in due course. Individuals and organisations attending the conference will be offered the opportunity to have a stand and distribute materials related to their SOGI and asylum related work.
Submissions should be made by email by Wednesday 22 January to info@sogica.org and include:
• Title of the submission;
• Abstract of up to 300 words;
• If not an oral paper presentation, specify duration, space or other presentation requirements;
• Contact details and brief biography (up to 50 words) for each author.
We will respond to all submissions by 22 February 2020.
Conference papers and other submissions can be published on the SOGICA project website after the event, with the permission of the authors. For these purposes, authors are asked to submit a final version of their work by 30 June 2020.
International and Comparative SOGIESC Law - Professor Andreas R Ziegler 