André Prado Fernandes

André Prado Fernandes is a fourth-year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh School of Law.  His engagement with student activism at the Law School of the University of São Paulo, and an internship at the City’s LGBT Human Rights Office, sparked his political and academic interest in the interfaces of law and sexuality.  André’s Master’s research at the University of Cape Town examined the burden of proof of sexuality-based refugee applications in the ‘gay capital’ of Africa in order to grasp how homosexual asylum-seekers negotiate the evidentiary (and institutional) hurdles of the process.  His doctorate research offers a critique of LGBT human rights and enquires whether it is the best – or the only – political framework for queer politics. André has also worked as a Portuguese-English translator for many years and believes this skill can function as a means of access and exchange of knowledges and voices.