There are many hundreds of non-governmental organizations throughout the world whose mission encompasses support of LGBTQ people and the protection of their human rights. This chapter discusses five distinct LGBTQ transnational organizations that ascribe to a human rights framework-International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association; OutRight Action International; Council for Global Equality; All Out; and Open for Business. Through an analysis of individual interviews with high-level administrators from each of these organizations, and a review of documents and websites, this chapter examines how each organization uses a human rights framework to drive and inform their work, the methods they employ to navigate issues of identity and cultural context, and some of the advances they have facilitated in the rights of LGBTQ people throughout the world. The common goals of these transnational organizations are to achieve LGBTQ equality, to ensure safety and dignity for all LGBTQ people, and to end all forms of discrimination against LGBTQ people. Their ultimate goal is to make so much progress that they are no longer needed at all.
