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On behalf of
lesbian and
gay asylum seekers,
Lord (Eric) Avebury has been tireless in raising
awareness of the perverse situation whereby countries in
which gay men and lesbians are known to be persecuted
are nonetheless deemed ‘safe’ by the Home Office.
On wider immigration issues, he led a great deal of the
UK Borders Bill. The automatic deportation
provisions, for example, would have received little scrutiny without
him.
On the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, he was one
of the few, if not the only one, to raise concerns about
'Special Immigration Status', which places asylum
seekers who are not protected by the Refugee Convention,
but cannot be returned to their countries of origin, in
permanent limbo and destitution.
Lord Avebury has been consistently vocal on welfare of children
and detainees. |
It was under the wing
of Stonewall in 1993, while Angela Mason CBE, was
it's Director, that the original Stonewall Immigration
Group was formed.
A lifelong campaigner for equality and
human rights, Angela
led campaigns for the equalisation
of the age of consent, lifting the ban on lesbians and
gays in the armed forces, the Civil Partnership Act and the
repeal
of Section 28.
In 2003, Angela was appointed Head of the Women and
Equality Unit, based in the Dept. for Communities and
Local Government. In this post she was responsible for
the Civil Partnership Act and the Equality Act, setting
up the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, as well
as leading a major review of all discrimination law with
a view to developing the Single Equality Bill.
Angela
is currently National Adviser for Equalities and Cohesion at the
Improvement and Development Agency for local government
(IDeA). |
Lord (Waheed) Alli,
received the accolade "Politician of the Year" in the
Stonewall - Barclays awards 2008.
TV producer, entrepreneur and politician, Lord Alli was
made a Life Peer in 1988. At age 34 he became the
youngest and first openly gay peer in Parliament.
He took a prominent role in the battle over the age of
consent and the campaign to repeal Section 28.
During the debate preceding a crucial vote on the age of
consent in April 1999, Lord Alli spoke thus in the House
of Lords:
"I have never been confused about my sexuality. I have
been confused about the way I am treated as a result of
it. The only confusion lies in the prejudice shown, some
of it in this house, and much of it enshrined in the
law. In tonight's vote I should like your Lordships to
speak out for me and millions like me, not because you
agree or disagree or because you approve or disapprove,
but because if you do not protect me in this House you
protect no one."
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