EU Delegation in the Kyrgyz Republic marks IDAHOBIT with LGBTIQ+ communities

Today, the Delegation of the EU to the Kyrgyz Republic jointly with the EU Member States representatives in the country, met with Kyrgyz queer activists to mark IDAHOBIT – International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

The Delegation welcomed activists from “Kyrgyz Indigo”, “Labrys”, Transgender Initiative ‘’MyrzAyim’’ and individual activists from the LGBTIQ+ communities on its premises. Raimonds Vingris, temporarily acting Head of Delegation, spoke on behalf of the Delegation, stressing the EU’s systematic support to combatting discrimination and upholding human rights as said in the declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union: “The European Union reaffirms its strong commitment to respect, protect and fulfil the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons. The EU stands with all LGBTI persons and will not compromise. We will combat discrimination, violence and hate speech based on sexual orientation and gender identity – in times of peace and times of conflict. We will continue our efforts to promote legal, political and financial anti-discrimination measures in close co-operation with civil society.”

Further, the EU Delegation representatives and queer activists discussed the overall situation with LGBTIQ+ rights and challenges in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Delegation presented some examples of collaborative work on achieving equal rights and answered to questions of participants.

To note, the queer movement of Kyrgyzstan consists of several LGBTIQ+ organizations, initiative groups and individual activists. The IDAHOBIT has been celebrated since 2006.

About IDAHOBIT

The IDAHOBIT is celebrated since 17 May 1990 when the World Health Organization eliminated homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Following this landmark decision, the IDAHOBIT is marked now across the world, bringing queer communities and allies together for awareness-raising activities to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.