Leading human rights lawyer urges LGBT athletes to seek asylum during London 2012 Games
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Human rights lawyer and high profile media commentator, Mark Stephens CBE, has called upon Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) athletes, who don’t feel safe in their respective countries, to apply for asylum during the London 2012 Games.
Mark Stephens, who is Chair of the Board of Governors at the University of East London (UEL), also lobbied the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban the countries where homosexuality is criminalised from competing in the Olympic Games.
Speaking last night (Tuesday, 22 May) at UEL as part of a series of public lectures, Mark Stephens’ lecture entitled Rainbow Legacy: why we must assert the rights of the international LGBT community during the Olympic Games, explored whether the Games can be used as a platform from which to launch multilateral legal challenges to address the criminalisation of homosexuality across the globe.
Speaking to an audience of academics, influential LGBT figureheads and local people, Mark Stephens appealed to LGBT athletes to follow the inspirational lead of American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who were both banned from the Games for merely making the Black Power salute in 1968 at the Mexico Olympic Games.
Stephens said: “I implore LGBT athletes who feel safe to do so, to come out and make a visible, memorable, courageous gesture for LGBT rights. Show that you are proud to be LGBT just as Smith and Carlos were both proud to be black.”
He continued: “I invite LGBT athletes who don’t feel safe to apply for asylum in this country on the grounds that you will face persecution at home if you are open about your sexual identity. The British Government will have to hear your application, and in doing so, they will have to engage with the human rights abuses perpetrated against the LGBT communities across the world."
Speaking in relation to a recent landmark UK Supreme Court case, he said: “LGBT athletes from the 84 criminalising jurisdictions should use this case to apply for asylum in the UK when they arrive for the Games in July.”
This event forms part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Lecture Series addressing issues of community, economy, and human rights in East London, and around the world against the backdrop of the Olympic Games.
UEL Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patrick McGhee, said: “UEL is at the centre of the Olympic action and it is right that we should explore the significance of the games in our flagship lecture series in 2012. The role that the Olympic and Paralympic games play in impacting upon the course of human history is clear, and I am sure the London games will continue that legacy.”
Notes to Editors
The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.
