Kiss-in protest staged at Uzbekistan consulate in New York

A gay “kiss-in” was staged outside the Uzbekistan consulate in New York City over the weekend. The kiss-in was organised by activist organisations Voices4 and RUSA LGBT, a group for Russian-speaking LGBT Americans.

Same-sex couples gathered outside the consulate and kissed in protest to the recent atrocities faced by LGBT+ people in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan. Human rights campaigners have reported the recent “gay purge” in Chechnya has encouraged discriminatory and violent anti-gay behaviour in neighbouring countries. In Uzbekistan a gay couple was arrested in December for having sex in their own apartment, while Azerbaijan has been ranked the worst place in Europe to be gay. Tajikistan has recently launched a registration program for all gay people, forcing mandatory STI testing.

For more information on these groups visit these websites:

https://voices4chechnya.com
https://rusalgbt.com