Symposium On U. S. Asylum Laws And Their Implication For The Homosexual Community To Be Held At NYU School Of Law

On Thursday, October 16, 1997, a diverse group of experts will gather at New York University School of Law to discuss exciting changes in U.S. asylum law. Women fleeing genital surgery (FGS) and gay men and lesbians escaping anti-gay persecution have rec ently found a safe haven from their persecutors in the United States. These developments spotlight the conflict of "universal" human rights norms with "local" cultural values and practices, a conflict mirrored in other areas of U.S. foreign and domestic policy. At a time when progressive critics have voiced growing concerns about an increasingly homogenous global culture and economy, such a forum is especially important.

Panelists will examine the role that U.S. asylum law plays in this debate. Confirmed speakers include Arthur Helton of the Forced Migration Projects at the Open Society Institute; Julie Edo of the African Peoples Council; Bernadette Passade-Cisse of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees; Serkan Altan, a Turkish asylee; Cynthia Rothschild of Amnesty International; Alice Millero, the International Human Rights Law Group; and Nahid Toubia of RAINBO. The inclusion of a wide variety of perspectives will facilitate open and frank discussion of these topics.

The symposium is sponsored by a unique coalition of NYU law students from the Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Law Students Association (BGLLSA), The Black Allied Law Students Association (BALSA), and the South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA). BGLLSA and BALSA are both the oldest organizations of their kind in the United States, and SALSA is one of the newest student organizations at the law school. The day’s events will begin at 1:30 p.m. with welcoming remarks. The keynote address will follow immediately at 1:45 P.M.. The FGS panel will follow at 2:30 p.m. and last until 4:00 p.m. A half-hour break will follow. The Sexual Orientation panel will begin at 4:30 p.m. and will be followed by a reception at 6:30 p.m. The symposium will take place at NYU School of Law in the Great Hall in D’Agostino Hall, 110 West Third Street between Thompson and Sullivan Streets.

09/26/97