Lawmakers in Kazakhstan should reject a draft law with amendments that would ban "propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation," seven international human rights groups said today. The groups are Access Now, Civil Rights Defenders; Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity; Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights; Human Rights Watch; International Partnership for Human Rights; and Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
If adopted, the proposed amendments to a draft law on archival affairs would violate fundamental human rights and increase the vulnerability of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and other queer people (LGBTIQ+) in Kazakhstan. The lower house of parliament is expected to vote on the draft law and amendments as soon as November 12, 2025.
Adopting a "LGBT propaganda ban" would blatantly violate Kazakhstan's international human rights commitments, including children's rights to education, health, and information, the groups said. Discriminatory and rights-violating provisions like those being proposed have no place in any democratic society, which Kazakhstan aspires to be.
The proposed propaganda-related provisions are completely unrelated to archival affairs and were included after a first draft of the archival affairs bill had already been approved by the lower house in its first reading on September 17, 2025. The bill next goes for a second reading in the lower house, and if adopted, must pass another reading by the Senate and then be signed by the president.
A group of members of the lower house of parliament proposed the amendments on October 28. On October 29, the group held another meeting under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Information, which invited selected civil society experts and journalists to attend.
Activists who attended the meeting said the group provided details about the anti-LGBTIQ+ provisions. The changes, if adopted, will amend laws on the rights of the child, mass media, online platforms, advertising, communications, culture, and education, and enable authorities to suspend access to websites and digital content without a court order.
The parliament members also informed the participants that the provisions make "propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation" an administrative offense, punishable by detention of up to 10 days and fines under article 456, part 2 of the administrative code. The wording of the amendments closely resembles the "LGBT propaganda ban" that was introduced in the Russian Federation in 2013.
It is unclear how the anti-LGBTIQ+ provisions would be justified as part of the draft law amending the law on archival affairs, nor were the civil society representatives who had been invited to the meeting allowed to comment or make recommendations.
On October 29, Elnur Beisenbayev, the moderator of the discussion and executive secretary of the ruling Amanat Party, said the text of the draft law would only be published once it has been adopted, activists who attended the meeting told the rights groups. The amendments were proposed by 15 deputies from several political parties and endorsed by the ministries of Culture and Information, Internal Affairs, Health, and Education, they said. The Cabinet of Ministers also supported the changes, the activists said.
Civil society members who attended the October 29 meeting said that the parliament members are proposing to define propaganda as "the dissemination of information about non-traditional sexual orientation and adherence to it, conducted publicly or through mass media, telecommunication networks or online platforms, including in a deliberately distorted form, to an undefined circle of persons, with the aim of forming a positive image." As such, publishing any information about LGBTIQ+ topics or expressing support for people identifying as LGBTIQ+ under the proposed amendments could potentially lead to administrative charges.
This most recent effort by Kazakhstan to ban "LGBT propaganda" goes against calls by United Nations human rights bodies that have repeatedly raised concerns about rights violations affecting LGBTIQ+ people in Kazakhstan. Most recently, on September 3, the UN Human Rights Committee, which reviews states' compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said that Kazakhstan should "redouble its efforts to combat discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons ... and reinforce the legal framework to promote the equal rights of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender persons."
In 2023, the UN Committee against Torture expressed concern about "violence against individuals on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity" in Kazakhstan and said that the authorities should end such violence.
Despite its international obligations, Kazakhstan does not include sexual orientation or gender identity as a ground for protection against discrimination in its laws, and the authorities have denied registration to nongovernmental organizations supporting the rights of LGBTIQ+ people.
LGBTIQ+ people are targets of assaults, threats, blackmail, and extortion by law enforcement officers and nonstate actors, as well as discrimination. Police violence, threats, and degrading treatment toward LGBTIQ+ people have resulted in deep mistrust of law enforcement among people who support these rights. Those responsible frequently commit these crimes with impunity, the groups said.
Kazakhstan's international partners should publicly condemn Kazakhstan lawmakers' efforts to sneak these discriminatory provisions into the draft bill. When the bill goes to a vote, lawmakers should withdraw this harmful proposal and work with human rights organizations and LGBTIQ+ activists to improve protections rather than eroding them, and to protect the right to freedom of expression.
Kazakhstan's Constitution protects against discrimination and guarantees freedom of expression and the right to freely receive and disseminate information. It is not too late for authorities in Kazakhstan to do the right thing and ensure that these abusive amendments are scrapped, the groups said.
