Gay Travel Advisory

Belarus

Law No. 362-Z2 from July 2017

Sources
  1. Text of the law is available at: https://www.pravo.by/document/?guid=12551&p0=H11600362&p1=1

Legal Code Text

The Bill on the Protection of Children from Information Harmful to their Health and Development was passed and came into effect in July 2017 as Law No. 362-Z2. Similar to Russia’s propaganda law, Article 37 prohibits the dissemination of information that “discredits the institution of family and marriage”.

A bill to amend the Law on Mass Media (2009) to ban 'LGBT propaganda' passed a first reading in the House of Representatives in April 2023; a further bill covering 'LGBT, paedophilia and change of sex' was reported in preparation Sept-Oct 2023, with drafting reportedly concluded by the General Prosecutor in Feb. 2024. Separately, in April 2024 the Ministry of Culture adopted Decision No. 24 (2024), amending a 2007 instruction to formally classify 'homosexualism' and related concepts as 'non-traditional sexual relations' within the existing 'pornography' legal category (Criminal Code (1999) Art. 343, up to 2-4 years).

SCRUFF Travel Notes

LGBTI RIGHTS: There are no legal restrictions on same-sex sexual relations or the organization of LGBTI events in Latvia. • In 2015 Mozaika, an NGO that promotes LGBTI rights, received 19 reports of LGBTI rights violations, which ranged from verbal and physical attacks to discrimination at work and bullying in schools. Non-governmental organizations complained of widespread intolerance and underreporting of such attacks and discrimination to authorities.