Decision on an ILGA World member organisation’s suspension
Summary:
Geneva, 1 May 2025 – The Board of ILGA World has decided to lift the suspension of The Aguda from its membership, effective 27 October 2025 – one year after the suspension came into force.
The decision, made by a majority vote, follows an investigation by ILGA World’s Disputes Resolution Committee, composed of elected Board members. The committee assessed the complaints it received on whether The Aguda aligned with ILGA World’s constitutional principles.
While the complaint was deemed substantive — particularly due to The Aguda’s reluctance to condemn war crimes plausibly amounting to genocide in Gaza, the Committee acknowledged that “The Aguda actively continues to provide support to LGBTI communities”.
The ILGA World Board took into account that requiring member organisations to take a public stance on their government positions and actions, and holding them accountable for not doing so, would create a precedent that could be harmful to our membership in many countries.
Based on these considerations, the ILGA World Board decided to lift the organisation’s suspension from its membership as of the end of October 2025. The one-year suspension is in recognition of the harm done by The Aguda’s actions and to encourage them to reflect on their position and ways of engaging in global contexts to prevent harm in the future.
This ILGA World Board decision is not an endorsement of The Aguda’s position, actions, or silence on the war in Gaza.
Where does ILGA World stand
Over the past 18 months, the ILGA World office and Board have taken a principled approach calling out the appalling human rights violations in Gaza. Read more here: 01 | 02 | 03.
ILGA World has condemned war crimes in Gaza and elsewhere – and does not waver in our support for the international human rights and criminal law systems.
These mechanisms are crucial to hold perpetrators to account, in light of the extensive evidence and ongoing proceedings before the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court indicating a plausible risk that genocide is being committed.
And yet, the ILGA World Board maintained that it cannot automatically hold civil society organisations accountable for the actions of their governments, or to require them to publicly condemn their human rights violations, even if they amount to crimes against humanity — particularly in contexts where doing so poses significant risks for an organisation to be exposed to reprisals.
ILGA World acknowledges that this membership-related dispute and situation at large has caused anger and harm to our LGBTI communities across the world. We extend our care and solidarity to all those who have been affected and, once again, we invite our movements to build bridges and foster dialogue within and among themselves.
As our global family was heading to South Africa for our 2024 World Conference, ILGA World received a bid from The Aguda to host the event in 2027 in Israel — a move that raised profound concerns for its timing and context.
The bid sowed division in our global movements and prompted formal complaints that led to temporarily suspending The Aguda from the ILGA World members and allow for proper investigation. However, the proposal also led to calls for boycotts of our imminent conference in Cape Town, and endangered LGBTI activists – in particular from our member organisations in countries that are part of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation.
Understanding the deep implications of this decision, the ILGA World Board chose to intervene and halt the bid – prioritising the safety, dignity, and unity of our global communities. ILGA World stands by its decision as an act of care and accountability to our global movement.
Throughout the investigation, which led to the decision to lift The Aguda’s suspension, the organisation engaged with ILGA World, responding to the complaint and providing explanations and context for actions that had led to their initial suspension.
As the investigation has now concluded, ILGA World strongly believes that for The Aguda to advance its proposal amidst an ongoing war and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza was a harmful and irresponsible act — whether the consequences were intended or not. Therefore, the ILGA World Board has decided to only lift the suspension one year after it was first imposed – inviting the organisation to engage in global contexts following the “do no harm” principle.
