Amnesty International and the Global Negotiation of Homosexuality, 1974–91

Abstract

This article examines how the rights of gays and lesbians became acknowledged as human rights through discussions within Amnesty International (Amnesty) in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. The author argues that Amnesty, the world's leading human rights organization at the time, played a key role in this process. It examines discussions among members and decision-makers about whether to recognize people imprisoned solely because of their homosexuality as prisoners of conscience alongside lobby campaigns from the gay and lesbian, later queer movements, from 1974 and until 1991, when Amnesty changed its policy and began working for incarcerated queer people. In terms of activism, the role of ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersexual Association, is highlighted. The article suggests that Amnesty's policy change was the result of a combination of factors internal and external to the organization: through the production of knowledge about homosexual prisoners, through activism that ranged from lobbying to direct action, through deal-making between different human rights interests, and through a changed geopolitical situation that created a window of opportunity.