The National Lesbian and Gay Federation (NLGF) condemns the passage of a Bill aimed at silencing LGBT people in Russia by making it illegal to campaign publicly for LGBT rights or present any positive portrayals of LGBT people in public.
This legislation, already law in a number of Russian regions, is proceeding despite widespread condemnation from the EU, the US State Department, foreign governments and international human rights organisations.
Olivia McEvoy, Chair of the NLGF, remarked: “This extreme homophobic law amounts to a clear violation of the most basic rights and freedoms of LGBT people and must be strongly resisted. No country that aspires to democratic values should be overseeing such a crackdown on the rights of an already highly vulnerable minority and we call on President Putin not to sign the Bill into law. We remind Russia of its human rights obligations as a member of the Council of Europe and condemn a law that flies in the face of such commitments.”
McEvoy continued: “This Bill, if signed into law, will only fuel an already deeply hostile climate for LGBT people in Russia. Just recently, we witnessed two brutal murders of gay man in the country. Meanwhile, LGBT organisations are facing legal action and threats of closure.”
The NLGF strongly urges the Irish government to make explicitly clear Ireland’s strong opposition to this so-called gay ‘propaganda’ law and to encourage the Russian authorities not to press ahead with it