President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the controversial bill into law Tuesday, following its passage through Kazakhstan’s parliament, with the Senate approving it December 18 and the lower chamber in November. The legislation, which also bans “pedophilia propaganda,” came after Kazakh citizens submitted a petition roughly 18 months ago urging the government to prohibit anything considered pro-LGBTQ+ propaganda. Sen. Ruslan Rustemov described the law as “banning the use of media, literature, entertainment, and other events that promote nontraditional sexual relations and pedophilia,” while Vice Minister of Justice Botagoz Zhakselekova attempted to clarify that LGBTQ+ identity itself would not be illegal, only “public promotion of LGBT rights.”
International human rights organizations condemned the legislation both before and after its passage, with a coalition including Human Rights Watch and Access Now warning in November that the law “would violate fundamental human rights and increase the vulnerability of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and other queer people (LGBTIQ+) in Kazakhstan.” The groups argued that the measure contradicts Kazakhstan’s international human rights commitments and its own constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, stating that “discriminatory and rights-violating provisions like those being proposed have no place in any democratic society, which Kazakhstan aspires to be.” The organizations further warned that the law threatens not only LGBTQ+ individuals but also journalists, academics, artists, and human rights defenders who risk sanctions for reporting on or advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.