Rémy
Bonny

Born and raised in Belgium, Rémy Bonny is a human rights defender and expert in international relations. He serves as the executive director of Forbidden Colours – a Europe-wide non-profit delivering human rights and democracy for LGBTIQ+ people in Europe.

Bonny is an expert in how ultraconservative and anti-democratic regimes use their fight against human rights for the LGBTIQ+ communities in their international relations. He exposed several anti-LGBTIQ+ initiatives by the Russian Federation, Hungary and other anti-democratic governments. In this capacity, he has given briefings on subversive activities, such as disinformation campaigns, and advised several national and supranational governments regarding Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) and human rights sanction regimes.

In 2019, Bonny revealed an international disinformation campaign by the Russian Federation, in cooperation with the Hungarian government, targeting the LGBTIQ+ communities in Europe.

In 2023, Bonny led a campaign for Forbidden Colours, Reclaim and Hatter Society to convince member states of the European Union to join the court proceedings against Hungary’s anti-LGBTIQ+ propaganda law. The lawsuit became the largest in the history of the European Union. Earlier, in 2021, Bonny was the first international activist to reveal the news about this horrendous law – which is a copy-paste of Russia’s 2013 anti-LGBTIQ+ propaganda law.

He holds a bachelor and masters degree in Political Science from the Free University of Brussels (VUB), and a European Master in Human Rights & Democratisation from the Global Campus of Human Rights.

Bonny’s work has been featured in many international media like Time, Politico, The Guardian, Sky News, Le Monde, Libération, El Paìs and many more.