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In a show of support for the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHOBIT), the US Embassy in Kazakhstan has displayed the rainbow flag on the side of the embassy in Nur Saltan.

Same-sex sexual conduct was decriminalised in 1998 and the right to change your legal gender was allowed in 2003, but all other LGBTIQ rights are forbidden in Kazakhstan including same-sex marriage, adoption and anti-discrimination laws.

A statement alongside the image of the flag was posted proudly on the embassy’s Facebook page.

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“Today we celebrate the annual International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBiT). In Kazakhstan, as in other countries of the world, many representatives of the LGBTI community remain silent because of fear of violence or stigmatization,” the US Embassy noted.

“Human rights are universal, and representatives of the LGBTI community have the right to the same respect, freedom and protection as everyone else.”

The statement was joined by the embassies of Germany, Greece, Israel, Spain, Italy, Canada, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Finland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, as well as the delegation of the European Union in Kazakhstan.

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