DELGA at Bournemouth Conference 2008

Liberal Democrat Federal Autumn Conference 2008 will be in Bournemouth from 13 - 17 September.

Details of DELGA's plans for the week will appear here nearer the time, but they will of course include our AGM and at least one fringe meeting. We are keen to ensure the stall is well-staffed all week; if you can help for some of conference week please contact the Secretary on secretary@delga.org.uk We are pleased that our motion on LGBT asylum seekers has been accepted for the conference agenda and look forward to this debate. The motion reads:

Annual General Meeting

DELGA's Annual General Meeting, to elect our executive for 2009 and consider our work to date and strategy, will be held on Sunday 14th September from 13.00-14.00 in the Priory 1 room of the Connaught Hotel.

All members welcome, and so are new recruits filling out a membership form while you're there!

FP4 Deportation To States Which Persecute on the Grounds Of Sexuality and Gender Identity

Conferences notes:

a) A number of recent cases in which lesbians and gay men have been deported or threatened with

deportation to countries, including Iran and Nigeria, where homosexuality is treated as a crime

punishable by sentences including the death penalty.

b) That the British Government has argued it would be acceptable for a lesbian or gay person to be

deported to a homophobic state, as long as that individual behaved in a 'discreet' manner.

c) That the UK is a signatory to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or

Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which prohibits torture, and the transfer, return or expulsion

of persons to countries where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would be in

danger of being subjected to torture.

Conference reaffirms the commitment in the preamble to the Liberal Democrat constitution that our

responsibility for justice and liberty cannot be confined by national boundaries; we are committed

to fight poverty, oppression, hunger, ignorance, disease and aggression wherever they occur and to

promote the free movement of ideas, people, goods and services.

Conference believes that:

1. Everyone should be treated equally under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,

Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, regardless of sexual orientation or gender

identification.

2. The suggestion that individuals should behave 'discreetly' to guarantee protection from harm is,

in the 21st century, an inappropriate message for the British Government to send to the countries

concerned and their people.

Conference therefore calls on the Government to halt the deportation of people to countries where

their sexual orientation or gender identification may mean that they are threatened with the risk of

imprisonment, torture, or even execution.

Applicability: Federal.

Previous Conferences

Read about Spring 2008 Conference in Liverpool here.

Read about 2007 Autumn Conference here.