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Aleska Simkić, the European Union’s ambassador to Kazakhstan, on December 3 met with the Senate’s deputy speaker Zhakip Asanov and expressed concerns regarding legislative amendments recently adopted by the Majilis, which aimed at banning so-called “LGBT propaganda.”

During the third EU Media Forum held in Astana on December 4, Simkić told Vlast that the EU has several concerns regarding the amendments.

“We have three concerns. The first one is about how the whole process went. Essentially, these amendments that are, in our view, potentially discriminatory, were put into the legislation,” Simkić said.

According to the EU ambassador, civil society was not properly included in the drafting of the legislative changes.

“What was added between the first and second reading of these laws was not properly consulted with any civil society actors. Usually, when you work on such rather important legislation that, in our view, is also looking into the international commitments of Kazakhstan, you would have to consult with relevant actors,” she said.

“We were contacted by the LGBT community, who are very concerned because they are already now seeing some tolerance issues. And for Kazakhstan, which prides itself on being a tolerant society, we just don’t understand the logic of this fast adoption of amendments. Now, I was told that this is, of course, because of the protection of children.”

Simkić also highlighted the fundamental misconception that sexual orientations can be spread or influenced by propaganda.

“On this particular issue, I think it’s a conceptual misunderstanding about what it means to be an LGBT person. Because somehow it seems that there is this feeling that with propaganda you will create LGBT people through children. And I conveyed to the authorities that this is just not how we understand the issue. There is probably not enough understanding of it, which is why they are so stigmatized,” Simkić said.

The EU, together with the United Nations, considers these amendments as a potential way to institutionalize discrimination, despite international and constitutional commitments.

"I mentioned to the authorities that the UN’s Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also said that this would potentially institutionalize discrimination. We also see a big problem with that and I also conveyed it to the Senate. Let’s see what is going to happen.”

”In our view, the way that Kazakhstan follows the laws means that [these amendments] might actually become a cause for discrimination. We don’t think that this particular propaganda exists: there is no such thing as propaganda about LGBT. We just don’t agree with the basic concept of this whole story.”

Hearings of the amendments in the Senate were scheduled for today but were excluded from the agenda last night.

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