Belarus LGBTQI+ rights statement

Supporting LGBTQ+ Activism in Belarus: We Call for Direct Solidarity with the Belarusian Queer Community Without Mediation or Colonial Paternalism

Belarus is experiencing a profound human rights crisis. The state's repressive policies have reached unprecedented levels, targeting political activists and vulnerable groups, including the LGBTQ+ community. In recent months, we have witnessed an escalation in violence and persecution, including arrests and interrogations of queer and feminist activists, as well as the targeting of community members abroad.

Colonial Discourse Against Solidarity

At the same time, the Belarusian queer community is increasingly alarmed by how support and cooperation within the post-Soviet region often turn into “tokenism,” where nominal inclusion of Belarusian issues in regional projects disproportionately concentrates efforts and resources on pro-Russian initiatives. In practice, Belarusian activists and representatives of the queer community frequently encounter bureaucratic hurdles and a lack of visa support in regional programs. Additionally, formal invitations to participate in projects often fail to provide genuine opportunities to influence the project’s direction or content. Simulated inclusion of Belarus in activist support initiatives is being used to amplify the positions of pro-Russian organizations on the international stage, undermining the Belarusian LGBTQ+ community’s struggle for rights.

We emphasize that such practices are unacceptable. Using "Belarus" as a label in international projects that fail to provide real support to Belarusian activists not only deprives our community of resources but also creates the false impression of equal assistance. This reinforces a colonial narrative that portrays Belarusian initiatives and issues as secondary while elevating Russian organizations as dominant and defining the regional human rights struggle.

We urge donors and international organizations to reconsider their approach to planning regional projects. It is essential not only to include Belarusian initiatives in declared goals but also to ensure genuine equality in resource allocation and influence. Belarus should not become merely a symbol or tool for attracting international attention and funding. Support for the Belarusian queer community must be honest, transparent, and directed at addressing critical needs amid the ongoing crisis.

Intensifying Repression in Belarus: On the Brink of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation

Repression against LGBTQ+ activists in Belarus has long evolved into a systematic campaign. However, recent months have brought new evidence of escalating threats. In September 2024, several queer and feminist activists in Belarus were detained and interrogated. These arrests involved violations of basic rights, including physical abuse, defamation, and threats of sexual violence. State authorities have intensified rhetoric against "Western values" and "radical movements," using it to suppress activists fighting for human rights.

Emergency evacuation has become a priority even for projects initially focused on community building or recreation. Requests for assistance in escaping repression and the burden on queer activists have multiplied. Since September, activists from various initiatives have received over 30 evacuation requests, resulting in more than 20 people being evacuated. Often, this has placed unplanned strain on projects, requiring not only the mobilization of human resources but also emergency fundraising, including reliance on donations from the Belarusian diaspora.

The vulnerable position of the LGBTQ+ community within the country is further exacerbated by a general atmosphere of fear and the impunity of repressive authorities. Many activists forced to go into hiding within Belarus face isolation without access to basic legal and psychological support. This occurs partly because the state manipulates anti-extremism laws: any display of solidarity or association with arrested individuals connected to the queer or activist community increases the risk of accusations of extremism. Consequently, families of activists often choose to avoid publicizing arrests and cut off ties between the detained individual and the LGBTQ+ community. This strategy has effectively corroded the horizontal networks activists spent years building with their audiences.

Repression has expanded: a wide range of queer people outside of activism are at risk.

In 2024, a clear trend emerged: the expansion of repression from targeting queer activists to targeting all LGBTQ+ individuals. Using blackmail and threats, KGB officers infiltrated local communities, summoning individuals for “informal talks” and compiling lists of LGBTQ+ people in regional cities across Belarus. Additionally, homophobic attacks became an integral part of repressions against NGOs that are formally unrelated to supporting the LGBTQ+ community. For instance, activists have documented cases where, during searches and arrests in cases related to environmental or urban initiatives, law enforcement intensified their actions upon suspecting activists of belonging to the LGBTQ+ community or made investigating a person’s SOGI the primary focus of the search. For example, an activist involved in an urban eco-project reported that OMON broke down the doors of her apartment and used physical force against her, demanding that she admit to being homosexual. We believe that law enforcement today is attempting to use the SOGI of politically active citizens as a trigger to justify the adoption of a law on the “promotion of homosexuality” and to prepare an informational campaign against the LGBTQ+ community.

We are also concerned that the expansion of repression to queer individuals outside the activist sector is not reflected in assistance programs for Belarus. Currently, most organizations providing emergency evacuation assistance have inflexible criteria for determining aid recipients and limit their efforts to activists in the public sphere. Meanwhile, 2024 has clearly demonstrated how repression has taken on a mass character, leaving the least visible individuals and those uninvolved in public activism most vulnerable. These individuals often lack the social capital, knowledge, and experience necessary to protect themselves from state persecution.

We urge that evacuation program frameworks become more flexible and based on the experience of Belarusian activist organizations working with repressed individuals, rather than on the concept of an “ideal victim.”

Persecution Beyond Belarus

Repression has long extended beyond national borders. A recent example is the emergency evacuation of a Belarusian gay man, Yauheni Muravitski, from Sakartvelo to Lithuania due to the threat of deportation to Belarus following his arrest. Based on homophobic stereotypes about Belarusian culture, law enforcement and state propaganda launched an online harassment campaign, hoping that outing him would reduce his support in exile and make local authorities less sympathetic to his asylum claim, especially amid newly adopted anti-LGBTQ+ laws. This incident underscores the need for robust support mechanisms for LGBTQ+ activists in exile and the urgent evacuation of those whose lives and freedoms are at risk in Belarus.

Key Needs

In response to current challenges, we call on international organizations and donors to strengthen support in the following areas:

1. Emergency evacuation of LGBTQ+ persons at risk.

The repressive environment within Belarus makes it impossible not only for activists to safely continue their work but also puts individuals openly expressing their identity or exercising their constitutional right to freedom of assembly at risk. We urge not to cut evacuation programmes to help LGBTQ+ people in Belarus, and to make the criteria for receiving emergency assistance more flexible, so that it can be extended not only to public actors, but also to the most vulnerable and invisible members of the community.

1. Psychological support.

Trauma related to arrests, persecution, and forced migration requires professional assistance. Accessible psychological rehabilitation programs are critical for the recovery of activists and community members.

1. Creating shelter networks abroad.

LGBTQ+ individuals forced to leave Belarus often face a lack of safe housing and financial resources. Shelters can provide temporary refuge, allowing people to start a new life in a safe environment.

1. Development of human rights assistance with a focus on LGBTQ+ issues.

There is an acute need for systematic support for LGBTQ+ individuals and building sustainable cooperation networks between LGBTQ+ activists and human rights organizations providing legal assistance and evacuation services.

The Role of the International Community

Supporting Belarusian queer activists both within the country and in exile is a strategic investment in building a more just world. We thank international organizations for their solidarity and contributions and call for continued action to ensure every voice fighting for human rights is heard and protected.

We urge:

• Increased funding for emergency assistance programs, including evacuation, shelters, and medical support.
• Continued advocacy on the international level, demanding Belarusian authorities cease persecution and release all political prisoners.
• Development of coalitions with a fundamental understanding of the colonial context, ensuring equal inclusion and participation of Belarusian queer organizations in regional cooperation.