All Africa Rights Initiative

Coalition of African LGBT organizations

All Africa Rights Initiative (or AARI) is a coalition of LGBT community organizations in Africa founded in 2004.[1] The coalition advocates against homophobia and for LGBT rights in Africa.[2][3][4]

## History

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The initiative emerged from a conference in Johannesburg in February 2004, organized by GALZ (originally "Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe") and a poverty-relief organization from Uganda,[5] and was linked to Human Rights Watch.[6] The conference consisted of over 55 representatives[7] from 22 LGBT movements groups originating in 17 African countries. The conference was initially convened to address HIV/AIDS education in Africa.[8] The initiative has been described as an attempt to "respond to human rights crises in Africa with a unified voice, and to share experiences that could lead to greater self-confidence and reduced dependence upon Western gay rights associations and other foreign donors."[9]

Due to the nature of homophobia across the continent, the conference did little to publicize its meeting at the time, and attendees refused to have their pictures taken.[5] At the end of the conference, the organization issued a statement challenging the locally popular idea that homosexuality is a Western notion, alien to Africa: "We have and have always had a place in Africa. [African traditional culture] is based on principles of welcoming and belonging."[10]

## References

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1. ^ Epprecht, Marc (2006). "All Africa Rights Initiative". In Gerstner, David A. (ed.). Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture (1 ed.). Routledge. p. 36\. ISBN 9780415306515. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
2. ^ Lind, Amy (2010). Development, Sexual Rights and Global Governance. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781135244590. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
3. ^ Martel, Frédéric (2018). Global Gay: How Gay Culture Is Changing the World. Translated by Baudoin, Patsy. MIT Press. p. 139\. ISBN 9780262537056. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
4. ^ Clark, Howard (2009). People Power: Unarmed Resistance and Global Solidarity. Pluto Press. pp. 173, 175. ISBN 9780745329024. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
5. ^ a b Richardson, Eric M. (2005). "Africa, LGBT Youth and Issues in". In Sears, James Thomas (ed.). Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia. Vol. 1\. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 29–30\. ISBN 9780313327544. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
6. ^ Harcourt, Wendy (2013). Body Politics in Development: Critical Debates in Gender and Development. Zed Books. ISBN 9781848136182. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
7. ^ Sources variously report the number as 55 or 65.
8. ^ Epprecht, Marc (2013). "Politics". Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa (2 ed.). McGill–Queen's University Press. p. 219\. ISBN 9780773588783. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
9. ^ Currier, Ashley; Thomann, Matthew (2016). "Gender and sexual diversity organizing in Africa". In Fadaee, Simin (ed.). Understanding Southern Social Movements. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317484080. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
10. ^ Goering, Laurie (2004-06-09). "Africa's gays persecuted as cause of ills". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2022-07-17.