Fiji | United States Institute of Peace

LGBTI Rights: Global Activism, U.S. Diplomacy

Tue, 05/26/2015 - 10:00

Tue, 05/26/2015 - 12:00

Subtitle:

Gender Minorities Seek Constitutional Protections

As lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities campaign for constitutional rights across the world, USIP gathered the United States’ new special envoy on the issue, along with international LGBTI activists, to discuss the movement and its future. Ambassador Randy Berry joined campaigners from South Africa, Ireland, Fiji, and Grenada in the May 26th forum, which was co-hosted by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

Read the event coverage, After Ireland Vote: Various Roads to LGBTI Rights.

While only a few countries now protect LGBTI rights in their constitutions, the inclusion of those protections increasingly has become an indicator of the strength and consolidation of democracy. And constitution-building processes in various countries have opened a social and political space of tolerance and equality within which gender minorities are continuing to claim their rights.

Welcoming Remarks:

Nancy Lindborg
President, U.S. Institute of Peace

Key Note Address:

Randy Berry
Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LBGT Persons, U.S. Department of State

Panelists

Sumit Bisarya
Constitution Building Programme
International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance
Michael Dafel
Doctoral Candidate, University of Cambridge
Eric Gitari
Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in Kenya
Monine Griffith
Director, Marriage Equality, Ireland
Richie Maitland
Co-founding Director, Groundation Grenada
Michelle Reddy
Programme Director, Fiji Women’s Rights Movement
Jason Gluck, Moderator
Senior Program Officer, Rule of Law, U.S. Institute of Peace

logos

Experts:

Jason Gluck

Type of Event or Course:

Issue Areas:

Countries:

After Ireland Vote: Various Roads to LGBTI Rights

Following Ireland’s constitutional referendum to legalize same-sex marriage, the newly appointed senior U.S. diplomat on human rights for gender minorities said he is “incredibly optimistic” about the prospects for the global campaign to guarantee such protections. Still, U.S. Special Envoy Randy Berry and an international group of activists said May 26 that gender-rights movements in many countries face tougher political landscapes than in Ireland and must rely heavily on more legalistic approaches to winning constitutional protections for their minorities.

USIP Staff

“I have had … a huge number of positive offers of assistance—from businesses, from community activists, from grandmothers, from people in every walk of life.” – Randy Berry, U.S. Special Envoy

Rule of Law, GLAS

Wed, 05/27/2015 - 13:18

Type of Article:

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Countries:

'Women of Courage' Awardees Challenge Social Norms Head On

“It was really overwhelming in the initial stages,” Deo said during a discussion at the U.S. Institute of Peace with seven of the 10 awardees. Other young women encouraged her to keep going, to not withdraw in the face of the hostility, and to assertively counter the challenges.

Framing the State in Times of Transition

Analyzing nineteen cases, Framing the State in Times of Transition offers the first in-depth, practical perspective on the implications of constitution-making procedure, and explores emerging international legal norms.

"Constitution-making in a post-conflict country is fraught with many risks and traps: how can we avoid or find creative solutions to them? In this useful book, scholars and practitioners reflect on the experience of two decades. Most importantly, Framing the State in Times of Transition: Case Studies in Constitution Making demonstrates the critical importance of the process itself in producing a constitution that provides a solid foundation for peace--a lesson anyone interested in technical assistance and peacekeeping should remember."

Book

Laurel E. Miller, with Louis Aucoin

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 12:32

Issue Areas:

Post Conflict Reconstruction

Countries:

Course Development for the Pacific Region

Program Officer Mary Hope Schwoebel, of Education and Training Center International, traveled to Fiji to present the course "Peacebuilding, Development, and the Public Sector" as part of a team of course writers fielded by American University's Institute for Peacebuilding and Development (PDI) in support of an initiative sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to establish a Peacebuilding and Development Institute (PDI) for the Pacific Region.

Mary Hope Schwoebel

Mon, 05/12/2008 - 12:21

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Articles & Analysis

‘MarriagEquality’ supporting same-sex marriage in Ireland at a demonstration in Dublin.

After Ireland Vote: Various Roads to LGBTI Rights

By:

USIP Staff

'Women of Courage' Awardees Challenge Social Norms Head On

Roshika Deo’s announcement that she would run in her country’s first election since a military coup eight years ago drew vicious condemnation on social media – racist and homophobic comments,...

By:

Viola Gienger

Course Development for the Pacific Region

Program Officer Mary Hope Schwoebel, of Education and Training Center International, traveled to Fiji to present the course "Peacebuilding, Development, and the Public Sector" as part of a team of...

By:

Videos & Webcasts

LGBTI Rights: Global Activism, U.S. Diplomacy

As lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities campaign for constitutional rights across the world, USIP gathered the United States’ new special envoy on the issue,...

Learn More

Publications

Framing the State in Times of Transition

By:

Laurel E. Miller, with Louis Aucoin

Analyzing nineteen cases, Framing the State in Times of Transition offers the first in-depth, practical perspective on the implications of constitution-making procedure, and explores emerging...