North American Man-Boy Love Association

The North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is an organization of pedophiles who claim that sex between grown men and boys should be legal. Many accused or convicted child molestors have been said to have been involved in the organisation, for example Rev. Paul Shanley[?], a Catholic priest from Boston accused of raping boys.

The gay movement has been accused of having links to NAMBLA, especially by right-wing Christians, although the majority of gay rights organizations reject all these claims. In the early 1990s, the International Lesbian and Gay Association had its UN ECOSOC consultative NGO status withdrawn after it was revealed it had links to NAMBLA. ILGA then expelled NAMBLA from the organization, but still has not been able to get back consultative status. A small minority of the gay movement opposed ILGA's action as a witchhunt.

The US Congress threatened to stop UN dues payments if the UN gave consultative status to any groups who defended pedophilia -- this was under the Helms amendment to the 1994-1995 Foreign Relations Authorization Act Fiscal Year 1994/1995 (Public Law 103-236) which stated in section 101(g):

(g) WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the funds authorized to be appropriated for `Contributions for International Organizations' shall be reduced in the amount of $118,875,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and 1995, and for each year thereafter, unless the President certifies to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate that no United States agency or United Nations affiliated agency grants any official status, accreditation, or recognition to any organization which promotes, condones, or seeks the legalization of pedophilia, or which includes as a subsidiary or member any such organization.'

The analogue of NAMBLA in The Netherlands is the association MARTIJN (for acceptence of pedophilia), which was founded in 1982.