Impossible Spaces? LGBTIQ+ activism in regional governance arenas

This paper extends current debates on shrinking civic spaces by examining whether the African Union’s (AU) regional governance system is becoming an increasingly impossible political arena for LGBTIQ+ people and for NGOs that advocate for their rights. Against the backdrop of intensifying anti-LGBTIQ+ discourses and legislative efforts across African national and regional contexts, the paper argues that these developments reflect transnationally diffused narratives, norms, and legal instruments that echo contemporary “authoritarian playbooks”. These strategies extend far beyond restricting the rights of NGOs to freedom of assembly, association, and expression, instead seeking to delegitimize sexual and gender minorities and those organizing in defense of their rights. Focusing on the AU, and particularly the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the paper investigates how anti-LGBTIQ+ contestations shape and restrict the scope of action for LGBTIQ+ movements and allied NGOs at regional level. Historically, the ACHPR has served as a key institutional site for advancing the recognition of LGBTIQ+ rights as human rights and has functioned as a “laboratory of democracy” – a space for transnational learning, solidarity, and civic innovation that contributed to upholding democratic principles and equality. Yet, in recent years, the ACHPR has come under significant political pressure from intergovernmental bodies within the AU, raising questions about the erosion and impossibilization of regional human rights protection mechanisms. Drawing on international relations, legal and gender studies scholarship, the paper explores how LGBTIQ+ activists and organizations respond to this hostile environment and develop new strategies to maintain democratic engagement, resilience, and human rights-based advocacy. In doing so, it examines strategic litigation, transnational solidarity networks, and innovative movement practices as democratic strategies in contexts of shrinking institutional space. By highlighting the democratic contributions and adaptive strategies of LGBTIQ+ actors working within and against the constraints of the AU governance system, the paper demonstrates that LGBTIQ+ activism at the AU/ACHPR level not only resists authoritarian encroachment but also develops creative and resilient democratic practices. In this way, the paper contributes to emerging scholarship that recognizes LGBTIQ+ activism as a driver of democratic innovation, resilience, and civic transformation in challenging political environments.