TGEU urges Kazakhstan to drop the proposed so-called ‘LGBT propaganda’ amendments
We are appalled and alarmed by the legislative initiatives underway in Kazakhstan to adopt a harmful ‘LGBT propaganda’ law.
Although the Mazhilis (Lower House of Parliament) approved the bill on 12 November, the updated text was not published on time, and key documents were quietly uploaded only on 16 November — without proper dating or transparency. This new version now includes provisions targeting ‘non-traditional sexual orientation’, but the full comparative table is still missing, making it impossible to see all the changes. The draft legislation has already been registered in the Senate, which may review it as early as next week, beginning of December.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), together with special rapporteurs, have expressed serious concerns about the proposed amendments.
Impact on local trans communities
Local activists continue to mobilise, hold public hearings, and challenge procedural violations, but the situation remains urgent and rapidly developing.
For example, on November 21–22, homophobic groups repeatedly attacked queer, feminist activists Ardz Tursynkhan, Zhanar Sekerbayeva, and Temirlan Baimash.The activists later reported that they were detained without explanation and tortured. These incidents come amid politically motivated repression linked to their human rights work and the introduction of anti-LGBT amendments in Kazakhstan, even before the law has formally entered into force.
A local lawyer writes that parallel legal changes are being made that could encourage ordinary citizens to help the police identify ‘offenders.’ This creates the risk of turning citizens into informants, triggering the risk of witch hunts and vigilantism. It also increases persecution and discrimination against LGBTI people and all socially non-conforming people under the pretext of ‘maintaining public order.’ Additionally, MPs are using manipulative rhetoric about protecting children by proposing legislative changes to restrict information that ‘promotes non-traditional sexual orientation.’
Violence in Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, trans people face pressure from both the state and society. Local activists say that the state does not recognise trans people as subjects of protection. On top of that, the term ‘gender identity’ does not appear in the laws, the police themselves become a source of threats and violence, and the number of violations keeps rising: 29 cases in 2022, 59 in 2023, and 131 in 2024.
From December 2024 to November 2025, the local trans group documented 99 confirmed cases, though the real number is much higher due to fear, distrust, and increased refusals to report amid discussions of the ‘LGBT propaganda’ law.
The police remain the most dangerous actors. A trans activist group recorded reports from 83 trans sex workers and over 150 cases of violence, harassment and discrimination, of which nearly 85% experienced police pressure, from extortion and illegal detentions to raids, humiliation, and sexual harassment, with even pseudo-police joining in.
TGEU’s position
Following the First European Union-Central Asia Summit, held in April 2025 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the EU and Central Asian Leaders reiterated that the promotion and protection of the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms is a common fundamental value.
The proposed amendments will violate Kazakhstan’s international human rights commitments as well as new political and economic agreements, and will fuel violence. Therefore, TGEU urges Kazakhstan to drop the proposed so-called ‘LGBT propaganda’ amendments.
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