Call to stop the political targeting of LGBT+ individuals 

The re-emergence of political manipulation causes concern. Both the political opposition and the authorities and their supporters have repeatedly attempted to discredit political opponents through a dangerous tactic, such as associating them with the LGBT+ community. In particular, in order to portray individuals in a negative light and diminish the weight and credibility of their words, rumors are spread about their alleged homosexual orientation or involvement in activities aimed at protecting LGBT+ persons. 

A person’s sexual orientation and gender identity are simply natural characteristics inherent to all human beings, and exploiting them for political purposes is devoid of any logical basis and serves only self-interested motives. 

We would like to once again emphasize that sհowing hostility and intolerance within society directly fuels discrimination and violence, which in turn threatens the stability of the state and social cohesion. This manipulative political practice of targeting vulnerable groups serves only political interests and does not stem from the logic of a democratic order. The use of such methods by individuals with governmental power provides a green light for violating the right to private life, dignity, and other fundamental rights. 

We call on state bodies to:

• Refrain from exploiting LGBT+ related issues to discredit political opponents and from targeting LGBT+ persons, 

• Condemn the spread of intolerance toward LGBT+ individuals by politicians and the media, as well as the targeting of individuals based on their alleged homosexual orientation or activities related to the protection of LGBT+ persons, 

We call on opposition political figures to:

• Refrain from political manipulation and from targeting LGBT+ individuals for reasons of political expediency. 

We call on the media to:

• Refrain from using hate speech and spreading political manipulation that fosters intolerance and hostility, which may lead to discrimination and violence against the LGBT+ community.