Post Submitted by Deputy Director of Partnerships, Global Jean Freedberg and HRC Global Associate Director of Research Saurav Thapa

A recent ruling by Mozambique’s Constitutional Council opens the way for Lambda, the country’s leading LGBTQ rights organization, to move closer to legal recognition after almost 10 years of efforts to gain registration as a civil society organization.

Lambda’s registration had been blocked  because of a clause in the country’s Law on Associations, which prohibits the registration of organizations which pursue aims “that are contrary to the moral, social, and economic order of the country and offend the rights of others or the public good.”  However, the Council, Mozambique’s highest constitutional body, ruled that the clause contradicted Article 52 of the constitution, which states that only “armed organizations which are military or paramilitary and those which promote violence, racism, xenophobia, or which pursue aims contrary to the law,” can be barred from registration.

Lambda’s executive director Danilo Da Silva told HRC that the Council’s ruling was a “huge victory for us and for the whole civil society” and said he hopes that the government will register the organization in 2018.

“We congratulate Lambda on this great step forward,” said HRC Global Director Ty Cobb, “and hope that in light of this ruling, the government will move forward without delay to register the organization.”

HRC has worked with Lambda  since 2015 when a team from HRC Global traveled to Maputo to conduct a two-day workshop to strengthen the organization’s campaign planning, networking and messaging capacities, and subsequently strategized with Lambda’s communications officer, an HRC Global Innovator on creative fundraising techniques for the organization.

HRC will continue to monitor events in Mozambique including Lambda’s upcoming registration. Read more about our work here.