Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum: final conference – call for submissions

The SOGICA final Conference is scheduled for 7-8 July 2020 and will take place at the University of Sussex – Falmer campus, Brighton (UK). You may find below the Call for submissions (deadline: 22 January 2020) and info for accomodation. Other details will follow in due course. We look forward to meeting you in Brighton!

Call for submissions

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?

Submission details

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.

Further details

Conference registration is free, but accommodation in Brighton is in high demand and can become expensive or unavailable. We therefore encourage you to make your accommodation arrangements as soon as possible. You can follow this link to choose from some alternatives made available through Visit Brighton, including some accommodation at the University of Sussex.

Conference booking details, provisional programme and keynote speakers will appear on the project website in due course. Please contact info@sogica.org with any questions.

You may also download our call for submissions here ! Remember: deadline is 22 January 2020. We look forward to meeting you in Brighton!

Best wishes from Nuno, Carmelo, Moira and Nina at SOGICA 

Switzerland: National LGBTIQ+ survey 2019 summary report (Léıla Eisner & Tabea Hässler )

Results of a large national survey of LGBTIQ+ people (i.e., individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, intersexual, queer, and other sexual or gender minorities) in Switzerland. Despite changes toward greater acceptance and equality, LGBTIQ+ people in Switzerland still suffer from discrimination and face structural inequalities.

This document provides a summary of the key findings of the survey.

• Report (English version)

New case in the European Court of Human Rights concerning residency of a same-sex couple in Switzerland (reported by Paul Johnson)

The Third Section of the European Court of Human Rights has communicated the case of B and C v Switzerland, which concerns a complaint by a same-sex couple regarding the refusal of a residence permit. The facts
Mr B is a national of Gambia who wished to obtain a residence permit on the basis of his registered same-sex partnership with Mr C, a Swiss national. However, the residence permit was refused owing to Mr B having a criminal conviction and his conduct in Switzerland.

Mr B has made a previous application to the Court regarding the refusal of the Swiss authorities to grant him asylum, which I wrote about in April 2017. The complaint to the Court
The complaint to the Court concerns the refusal of the residence permit, under Article 8 of the Convention. It also concerns the expulsion of Mr B to Gambia, under Article 3 of the Convention. Questions to the parties
The Court has asked the parties the following questions:

1. If the expulsion order against Mr B were enforced, would it be possible, in practical terms, that he be deported to a country other than Gambia, notably Mali? If so, would he face a risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention in that country?
2. In the light of the claims and the documents which have been submitted, would Mr B face a risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention if he were deported to Gambia? In particular, having regard to the Court’s finding in I.K. v. Switzerland ((dec.), no. 21417/17, § 24, 19 December 2017), is there a real risk that the first applicant would face ill-treatment at the hands of the Gambian authorities? Is there a real risk that he would be criminally prosecuted? Is there a real risk that he would face ill-treatment at the hands of non-state actors and, if so, would the Gambian authorities be willing and able to provide protection to him (see, in particular, J.K. and Others v. Sweden [GC], no. 59166/12, § 98, 23 August 2016)?
3. Has the refusal of a residence permit to Mr B been, and would the enforcement of the expulsion order against him be, in violation of Mr B and Mr C’s right to respect for their private and family life, contrary to Article 8 of the Convention? In particular, was the refusal of a residence permit to Mr B, and would his removal be, proportionate in view of the finding that Mr B and Mr C could continue to live their relationship, inter alia, through regular visits of Mr B to Switzerland? In the event that the only country to which Mr B could be deported were Gambia, did the criminalisation of homosexual acts in that country, irrespective of whether such acts are prosecuted at present, and the Court’s findings in Dudgeon v. the United Kingdom (22 October 1981, Series A no. 45) and Norris v. Ireland (26 October 1988, Series A no. 142) have to be taken into account in the balancing exercise in the present case? In the event of the determination that Mr B would not face a real risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention based on his sexual orientation if he were deported to Gambia, would any foreseeable difficulties which he may encounter there on the ground of his sexual orientation have to be taken into account in the balancing exercise, again having regard to the Court’s finding in I.K. v. Switzerland (cited above, § 24)? Have the domestic courts engaged in a thorough balancing of the interests in issue, taken into account all relevant circumstances of the case and attached adequate weight to them, and is this reflected in the reasoning of their decisions (see, in particular, I.M. v. Switzerland, no. 23887/16, 9 April 2019)?

http://echrso.blogspot.com/2019/09/new-case-in-european-court-of-human.html

New article on the ECHR and sexual orientation discrimination in Central and Eastern Europe (by Paul Johnson)

http://echrso.blogspot.com/2019/10/new-article-on-echr-and-sexual.html

New article on the history of buggery and the UK Parliament (by Paul Johnson)

http://echrso.blogspot.com/2019/10/new-article-on-history-of-buggery-and_17.html

Germany unveils new law banning traumatising conversion therapy for minors

Under pressure from churches, Cook Islands MPs back down on same-sex law reform

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/117125807/under-pressure-from-churches-cook-islands-mps-back-down-on-samesex-law-reform

ILGA World has launched the first toolkit focusing on strategic litigation with the UN Treaty Bodies and on individual communications to this human rights mechanism. United Nations Treaty Bodies’ individual communications mechanisms provide defenders with opportunities to obtain justice after the exhaustion of domestic remedies, and to benefit from positive developments achieved in the field by defenders from other countries and regions.
Access the toolkit online.

ILGA World is looking for a full-time staff member at the level of Senior Programme Officer to head-up their UN advocacy and policy work with the Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodic Review (Deadline to apply: Thursday 28 November 2019, 13:00 CET). They are also inviting bids/applications for three short-term consultancies to work on media monitoring and documentation in Africa and the Middle East, Asia and Oceania-Pacific, & Europe and Americas (Deadline to submit bid/application: Monday 18 November 2019; 13:00 CET).
Read more about the opportunities.

The hearing for 6 people, who were detained by the police during the Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride March which took place on 1 July 2018, was held on 4 October at a local criminal court. The allegations included the defiance to the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations as well as “resisting police officers to prevent them from doing their task” and “endangering traffic safety”. Although 4 of them were acquitted, one person sentenced to 5 months on the allegation of resisting a public official, and another was sentenced to 2 months and 15 days on the grounds of endangering traffic safety. In both decisions, the announcement of the verdict was deferred. The Pride Committee said that they will appeal against ruling. Read more from Kaos GL.The hearing for the 2019 METU Pride March participants starts on 12 November in Ankara.