Strategy Consultation on Litigating SOGIE before the African Human Rights System

The Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) convened a two-day Strategy Consultation on Litigating Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Before the African Human Rights System from 8–9 August 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting brought together a diverse group of litigators, human rights defenders, movement actors, academics, and representatives of regional and international organisations.

The Consultation was anchored in ISLA’s commitment to building feminist jurisprudence that confronts structural oppression, defends contested rights, and advances social justice across the continent. Over the course of two days, participants engaged in analysis, reflection, and experience-sharing aimed at charting a deliberate and coordinated approach.

The meeting took place against a backdrop of growing hostility toward Lesbian, Gay, Bi sexual, Transgender, Queer + (LGBTQ+) people , the weaponisation of “African values” by anti-rights actors, and shrinking civic space. These political shifts, alongside contestations of the human rights of LGBTQ people, political interference within the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and increasing state withdrawals from Article 34(6) declarations at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights require careful strategic navigation before embarking on the first case.