Belarus LGBTQI+ rights statement

The purpose of the monitoring is to identify instances of hate speech, stigmatization, and repressive practices targeting LGBTQ+ people, as well as to document related ideological and informational narratives.
Sources included materials from pro-government and government-affiliated media, official websites of state bodies, and Telegram channels that regularly broadcast the positions of the authorities and/or security structures.

In an SB.by publication dated January 3, 2026, “LGBT propaganda” is mentioned in the same row as extremism and the “atrocities of fascists,” which are described as “flourishing in Europe,” in contrast to the “traditional values” preserved in Belarus. In the article “Wisdom, Kindness, and the Inner Strength of Working Women as the Foundation of Family Well-Being” (January 10, 2026), “LGBT propaganda, same-sex marriages, and childfree ideology” are presented as negative Western influences threatening the future of the Belarusian nation and its demography.

In the BelTA material “The Ministry of Defense on Information Wars” (January 22, 2026), the head of the Information Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Aleksei Titskiy, states that the protection of the “traditional family, motherhood, and fatherhood” is framed as an element of national security and resistance to external threats.

Similar rhetoric was contained in the President’s Address to the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly on December 18, where Lukashenko described the “fashion for a non-traditional family” as part of a “global project against humanity.” Such statements legitimize discriminatory rhetoric at the highest state level and establish a framework for further repressive and propaganda practices.
Thus, the state narrative clearly and consistently constructs a negative image of LGBTQ+ people as an external threat and an element of hostile ideology.

On December 25, the Telegram chat “Dating • LGBT | CHAT” was added to the national list of extremist materials, without specifying which exact information in the chat was classified as “extremism.”

Author columns by the notorious propagandist Andrei Mukovozchik on SB.by regularly employ derogatory and dehumanizing rhetoric toward LGBTQ+ people, including phrases such as “LGBT plus, mind minus” and appeals to “biological norms of species survival” and “divine laws” as arguments to normalize homophobia. On February 10, Mukovozchik makes an absurd sarcastic remark: “one would not like to think that aspen stakes are being bought for fun by all sorts of LGBT+ supporters. Out of grief that they are all banned in Russia like extremists.” In doing so, he not only disseminates hate speech and constructs an absurd negative image of LGBTQ+ people, but also merges the Belarusian and Russian legal and informational fields, where what is prohibited in Russia is presented as unacceptable in Belarus as well.

The use of homophobic rhetoric in the context of “protecting children” and references to the Russian discriminatory vector are recorded in the ONT report “A Social Network for Children or a Trap for Fraudsters? Why Roblox Was Blocked in Russia” (January 18, 2026), where “LGBT values” are mentioned in the same row as “violence” and “terrorism,” from which children may allegedly suffer in online games.

Pro-government Telegram channels supplement official rhetoric with openly homophobic publications. The channel “Yellow Plums” contains materials dated January 14 and 16, 2026, with insulting and derogatory wording targeting publicly known LGBTQ+ people, attributing homosexuality to Polish President Karol Nawrocki in an attempt to discredit his reputation, and contrasting Belarusian “traditional families” with “LGBT propaganda” in Europe.

Additional confirmation of the systemic nature of discrimination is provided by the February 2, 2026 publication of the monitoring of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in Belarus for 2025 by the TG House initiative, which, with reference to its monitoring data, documents raids, detentions, hate speech, pressure through digital platforms, and other forms of persecution of LGBTQ+ people.

Conclusion

During the reviewed period, a stable trend of stigmatizing LGBTQ+ people through the discourse of “traditional values,” “child protection,” and “national security” can be observed. LGBTQ+ topics are used as an element of ideological opposition to “hostile external influence” and as an instrument for legitimizing restrictive and repressive measures, thereby forming a hostile informational environment and increasing the risks of further strengthening discriminatory practices by the state.

Against the backdrop of intensifying discursive and legal pressure, the importance of supporting LGBTQ+ people in Belarus is increasing and takes on a fundamental character. In conditions where even public mention of LGBTQ+ topics is accompanied by stigmatization, and increased visibility may be associated with security risks, all forms of solidarity, mutual assistance, and sustainable horizontal community ties become critically important.

Particular importance is attached to initiatives aimed at providing psychological, informational, and legal support to LGBTQ+ persons, as well as preserving safe spaces — including online. Supporting such mechanisms not only reduces individual risks for LGBTQ+ people in Belarus but also serves as a factor counteracting further marginalization and isolation of the community.