Human Rights LGBTQIA+ Initiative
REQUEST is an LGBTQIA+ initiative in Kazakhstan working to advance dignity, equality, protection, and access to justice. We support LGBTQIA+ people and communities through legal assistance, monitoring, advocacy, education, strategic litigation, and coalition-based action.
WHo WE ARE
An independent initiative working for dignity, equality, and protection
Priority themes
Diversity, Equality, Inclusion
Civil and Political Rights
Social and Economic Rights
Digital Rights
What we do
Monitoring and Documentation
We collect data, conduct interviews and focus groups, and document cases of LGBTQIA+ rights violations
Advocacy
We use national and international human rights mechanisms, including legislative engagement, policy analysis, strategic recommendations, courts, and advocacy through the UN, OSCE, EU, and international financial institutions.
Legal Assistance
We provide legal consultations to the community and represent LGBTQIA+ people in courts, police, and other state bodies.
Strategic Litigation
We use national courts and UN treaty bodies to challenge discriminatory laws and practices and pursue systemic change.
Education and Capacity Building
We provide training, consultations, and learning opportunities for the community and help foster a new generation of LGBTQIA+ activists.
Community Mobilization
We strengthen community participation, promote self-advocacy, and support collective action.
In Kazakhstan, LGBTQIA+ people continue to face stigma, discrimination, legal uncertainty, and barriers to protection. The absence of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation means that many people do not have effective remedies when they experience violence, hate speech, institutional pressure, or exclusion.
REQUEST works to make LGBTQIA+ rights visible as part of the broader human rights agenda. We combine community-based knowledge with legal analysis, documentation, advocacy, and strategic litigation to challenge discriminatory practices and strengthen protection mechanisms.
As an LGBTQIA+ initiative in Kazakhstan, REQUEST also builds partnerships with civil society organizations, human rights defenders, experts, and international institutions. We believe that equality cannot be selective, and that dignity, safety, and justice must be available to everyone.
- Pride Month in Kazakhstan: Equality Cannot Be Selective
- First Case of Enforcement of Kazakhstan’s “LGBT Propaganda” Ban
- Court to Review the Registration Case of the Human Rights Initiative REQUEST
- International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT)
- UN Special Rapporteur presents preliminary observations following official visit to Kazakhstan
Read more about our work in the Blog
Explore our Reports
Learn more About Us