Human Rights & International Sporting Events: Russian Anti-Gay Legislation, the Sochi Winter Olympics, & Next Steps

Topics:
  • LGBT

This program, immediately following the conclusion of the Winter Olympics, will focus on the deterioration of LGBT rights in Russia, where recent legislation has banned "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors"; the responsibilities of the International Olympic Committee and other international sporting NGOs in upholding international human rights standards; forms of protest (boycott, sponsor targeting, designated protest areas) and their effectiveness; the rights of individuals and organizations to protest during the Olympics and other events; the continuing human rights crisis in Russia once the Olympics end; and how to ensure going forward that international sporting NGOs select venues that comport with their charters and international human rights standards.

Moderator:

  • K. Scott Kohanowski, Staff Attorney, City Bar Justice Center; co-president of the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Association

Speakers:

  • Nikki Dryden, Immigration & Human Rights Attorney, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy and two-time Olympic swimmer
  • Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives for Human Rights Watch, editor of China's Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges
  • James N. Green, Professor of Brazilian History and Culture at Brown University, author of Beyond Carnival: Male Homosexuality in Twentieth-century Brazil, founding member of SOMOS, Brazil's first gay and lesbian rights organization
  • Gleb Vakrushev, activist and member of Rusa LGBT, a U.S.-based, Russian-speaking network that fights for social justice and human rights for LGBT people in the former Soviet Union.

Sponsored by: LGBT Rights Committee, Jordan Backman, Chair

Cosponsored by: International Human Rights Committee, Elisabeth Wickeri, Chair; Sports Law Committee, Anthony J. Dreyer, Chair; City Bar Justice Center; Vance Center for International Justice; Immigration Equality