Kazakhstan Adopts Controversial Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Following Russian Model

Kazakhstan's parliament approved a controversial bill on Wednesday that prohibits the promotion of "non-traditional sexual orientation" in public spaces and media outlets, mirroring Russia's anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Human rights organizations have condemned the measure as discriminatory, warning it would further endanger the LGBTQ community in this predominantly Muslim Central Asian nation allied with Russia. The bill still requires approval from the upper house before becoming law.

Specifically, the legislation would prohibit "information containing propaganda of paedophilia and/or non-traditional sexual orientation in public spaces, as well as in the media."

Multiple human rights groups urged legislators to vote against the bill, with the International Partnership for Human Rights stating that its adoption "would blatantly violate Kazakhstan's international human rights commitments."

Kazakhstan, a vast former Soviet republic with abundant natural resources positioned between Russia and China, is carefully navigating relationships between its powerful neighbors and Western nations.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was visiting Moscow during the vote, where he was expected to formalize a strategic partnership agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier this year, Tokayev publicly criticized what he termed LGBTQ values, writing on social media: "For decades, so-called democratic moral values, including LGBT, were imposed on many countries." Using rhetoric similar to Moscow's, he suggested that various NGOs and foundations had used these issues as pretexts for interfering in sovereign nations' internal affairs.

Russia implemented its own anti-LGBTQ legislation in 2013, initially prohibiting "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships" to minors. Following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia extended these restrictions to adults and intensified its campaign against LGBTQ individuals and organizations.

Several other nations, including European Union members Hungary and Bulgaria, have enacted similar anti-LGBTQ "propaganda" laws that critics argue are influenced by Russia's approach.