\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWith Russia in the lead, at least 19 nations outlaw \u2018promotion\u2019 of homosexuality<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his buddy, Relarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka (Photo courtesy of the Atlantic Council)
\n\u00a0
\nRussia\u2019s strong ally Belarus this month adopted a Russian-style law banning publication of what it calls \u201cpropaganda\u201d promoting consensual same-sex relationships and \u201cgender reassignment\u201d.
\nThe new Belarus law even bans promotion of \u201cchildlessness\u201d and makes no distinction between homosexuality and pedophilia.
\nThe move \u201cfurthers the legal and political alignment between Belarus and Russia, which both seek to stigmatize minority groups, control public discourse, and suppress dissent\u201d, according to Human Rights Watch.
\nBy adopting the ban on \u201cgay propaganda\u201d, Belarus joins the ranks of at least 19 homophobic and repressive nations that have such laws.
\nAmong those nations are:<\/p>\n
Russia \u2014 the most prominent example. Russia enacted its ban in 2013, at which point it only covered positive mentions of homosexuality in the presence of minors. In 2022, that prohibition was extended to cover all positive mentions of same-sex love in any traditional media, social media, advertising, or movies.
\nHungary \u2014 a ban on portrayal of homosexuality in the presence of youths.
\nKyrgyzstan \u2014 a 2023 law banning publications that \u201cpromote non-traditional sexual relations\u201d.
\nNigeria \u2014 laws against same-sex intimacy and \u201cpromotion\u201d of it.
\nLibya \u2014 laws against same-sex intimacy and \u201cpromotion\u201d of it.
\nBurkina Faso \u2014 a 2025 law that criminalizes homosexuality and behavior \u201clikely to promote homosexual practices.\u201d<\/p>\n
The LGBTQ+ Institute also cites these nations as having bans on promotion of homosexuality:<\/p>\n
Algeria;
\nEgypt;
\nMorocco;
\nSomalia;
\nTunisia;
\nIraq;
\nIran;
\nJordan;
\nKuwait;
\nLebanon;
\nQatar;
\nSaudi Arabia; and
\nSyria<\/p>\n
Lithuania also has law against promotion of homosexuality, although it is seldom enforced and has been challenged in court.<\/p>\n
Belarus is located between Russia and Ukraine. (Map courtesy of istanbul-city-guide.com)The Belarus law, adopted on April 2 by the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus and signed by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on April 15, introduces Article 19.16 \u201cPropaganda of homosexual relations, gender reassignment, childlessness, and pedophilia\u201d into the Code of Administrative Offenses.
\nThe new regulations prohibit the \u201cdissemination in any form\u201d of information aimed at fostering a positive attitude toward same-sex relations, gender transition, voluntary childlessness, or the acceptance of pedophilia. Violations of these prohibitions are punishable by fines, community service, or administrative arrest for up to 15 days.
\n See Also<\/p>\n
Human rights experts working with the UN human rights agency said the new law \u201crepresents a dangerous escalation. It equates legitimate human rights activities with an administrative offense and may further provide grounds for persecution of already marginalized groups and their rights defenders.\u201d
\nThe experts said the law is misleading by linking legitimate expression with criminal acts such as pedophilia, thereby exacerbating stigma and hostility. The UN warns that the law\u2019s vague and overly broad wording could lead to arbitrary application and further narrowing of civic space.
\n\u201cBy conflating human rights advocacy and information on sexual orientation, gender identity, and reproductive autonomy with administrative violations, the authorities are fueling bias and legitimizing discrimination,\u201d the experts saiy.
\nThey also warned that the new law could affect women and their sexual and reproductive health rights, \u201cwhich are inalienable to their autonomy and dignity and constitute a prerequisite for their enjoyment of all other human rights.\u201d
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tColin Stewart<\/p>\n
\t\tApril 27, 2026<\/p>\n\n With Russia in the lead, at least 19 nations outlaw \u2018promotion\u2019 of homosexuality Russian President Vladimir Putin and his buddy, Relarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka (Photo courtesy of the Atlantic Council) \u00a0 Russia\u2019s strong ally Belarus this month adopted a Russian-style law banning publication of what it calls \u201cpropaganda\u201d promoting consensual same-sex relationships and \u201cgender reassignment\u201d. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3659155457675267_172535249438148":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex.jpg",1926,1433,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-300x223.jpg",300,223,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-768x571.jpg",618,459,true],"large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-1024x762.jpg",618,460,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-1536x1143.jpg",1536,1143,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex.jpg",1926,1433,false],"tie-small":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-110x75.jpg",110,75,true],"tie-medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-310x165.jpg",310,165,true],"tie-large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-310x205.jpg",310,205,true],"slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-660x330.jpg",660,330,true],"big-slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Belarus-adopts-law-against-positive-attitudes-toward-gay-sex-1050x525.jpg",1050,525,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"