ECOM Calls for Rejection of Illegal Petition “Against LGBT Propaganda”

In June, the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan started considering the petition “We are against open and concealed LGBT propaganda in Kazakhstan!”, initiated by the head of the public association Kazakhstan Parents' Union. The petition calls on the authorities of Kazakhstan to pass a law prohibiting open and concealed LGBT propaganda and introduce fines for such materials in order to “protect children.”

This could potentially lead to the development of a draft law or amendments to existing laws.

On June 21, the first meeting of the working group was held with representatives of government agencies and members of Parliament, despite the fact that the subject of the petition cannot include issues that might entail violations of human and civil rights and freedoms. On July 10, the second meeting of the working group was held. The Administrative Procedural Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan gives the ministry 40 working days to consider the petition, and a response is expected by August 5.

It is important to remember that the Republic of Kazakhstan has signed and ratified the main international documents guaranteeing human rights, among them the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees every person, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), equal rights and freedoms, including the right to information and the right to freedom of speech.

UN committees have repeatedly recommended that effective measures be taken to prevent violence against individuals based on their actual or perceived SOGI and to criminalize SOGI-motivated hate crimes, to remove excessive restrictions on registering organizations that promote women's rights and LBTI rights, to take measures in order to enable them to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association without undue interference, and others.

Let us recall that in February, the website for LGBT teenagers Selftanu.kz, which posted materials on the topics of health, relationships and acceptance of SOGI, was blocked in Kazakhstan. The news about this appeared on February 12, 2024, in the register of the portal of the Ministry of Culture and Information. It was noted in the register that access to the site was restricted for “posting information that is harmful to the health, moral and spiritual development of children.”

In this regard,