Defending democracy and LGBTQI+ rights with Leo Varadkar
Defending democracy and LGBTQI+ rights with Leo Varadkar
Society

Tue. October 28, 12:15PM

Defending democracy and LGBTQI+ rights with Leo Varadkar

A conversation with Leo Varadkar and Diego Garcia Blum, in partnership with Forbidden Colours and Harvard’s Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights and Weatherhead Center for International  Affairs


LGBTQI+ rights are under pressure. What looks like targeted culture-war politics is in fact something deeper: a test of democratic resilience. Restricting free assembly, silencing classrooms, or politicising family life are not only about minorities, but about weakening the institutions that protect us all.


Former Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar—one of Europe’s youngest heads of government and the first openly gay leader in Ireland—will reflect on what is at stake, how leaders can defend equality, and what choices lie ahead for European democracies.


He will be joined in conversation by Diego Garcia Blum, Director of the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program at Harvard University. The event will be introduced by Rémy Bonny, Executive Director of Forbidden Colours.


The event is organised in partnership between TheMerode and Forbidden Colours, with support from the Harvard Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.

speaker

Leo Varadkar

Leo Varadkar was Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland from 2017–2020 and again from 2022–2024. As Taoiseach, he gained international recognition for leading Ireland’s response to Brexit—preserving the Good Friday Agreement and Ireland’s place in the EU—and for his stewardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was one of the first openly gay heads of government, coming out during Ireland’s marriage equality referendum, and his governments advanced major reforms including the removal of Ireland’s abortion ban. Varadkar also prioritized equality for women through gender pay gap reporting, greater diversity on boards, and expanded parental leave and worker protections.

speaker

Rémy Bonny

Rémy Bonny is a Belgian human rights defender and executive director of Forbidden Colours, a Europe-wide non-profit advancing LGBTIQ+ rights and democracy. An expert on how authoritarian regimes use anti-LGBTIQ+ policies in international relations, he has exposed disinformation campaigns and advised European and national governments on human rights sanctions and foreign interference. He played a leading role in the EU’s landmark case against Hungary’s anti-LGBTIQ+ law, and his work has been featured in Time, Politico, The Guardian, and Le Monde. Bonny holds degrees in political science from the Free University of Brussels and in human rights from the Global Campus of Human Rights.

moderator

Diego Garcia Blum

Diego Garcia Blum is Director of the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program at Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. His work focuses on advancing safety and equality for LGBTQI+ people worldwide through policy, research, and advocacy. A former nuclear engineer, he later turned to politics and human rights, serving on the National Board of Governors of the Human Rights Campaign and teaching at Harvard on LGBTQ protest and policy. Garcia Blum holds degrees in nuclear engineering, political science, and a master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Start
Tue. October 28, 12:15PM
End
Tue. October 28, 1:30PM
Format
TheMerode Talks
Language
English (US)
Guest allowed?
Yes, 1 per member

Address

Event
Place Poelaert, 6
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Parking
Parking Poelaert, Place Poelaert 1000 Brussels

Detailed programme

Welcome
Tue. October 28, 12:15PM
Start of the talk
Tue. October 28, 12:30PM
End
Tue. October 28, 1:30PM