US and Rsia Fight Proxy War Over Gay Rights Kyrgyzstan – The Diplomat

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Kyle Jam Rohrich wrote "Human Rights Diplomacy Amidst 'World War LGBT': Re-examg Wtern Promotn of LGBT Rights Light of the 'Tradnal Valu' Disurse" as part of the 2014 Humany Actn Diplomacy and Diversy Fellowship. The rearch say was first published  Transatlantic Perspectiv on Diplomacy and Diversy (Humany Actn Prs 2015). The plete book is available for purchase on Amazon.   Abstract Rsian Print Vladimir Put’s succsful manipulatn of LGBT rights as an stment to advance Rsia’s foreign policy objectiv Eurasia shows that diplomatic actors seekg to promote LGBT rights the regn mt adjt their strategi. This article aims to tablish a basele for succs this enavor. First, the article intifi the roots of the “LGBT human rights” and “tradnal valu” movements and analyz actors’ e of different operatnal tools to advance their e. This article then measur the effectivens of the operatnal tools vis-à-vis geopolics by examg the current stat of LGBT rights the European and Rsian spher of fluence wh Eurasia. This regn, nsistg of Eastern/Southern Europe, the Cs, and Central Asia, has seen rapid advancements or backslis the realm of LGBT rights the past four years.  Fally, this article exam the s of Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan, two untri wh different spher of fluence, to unrstand why LGBT rights are advancg some untri and regrsg others. This article draws upon rearch and terviews to remend diplomatic actors vigoroly monor, evaluate, and learn om their diplomatic efforts; crease their foc toward grassroots chang; and seek unsel om lol change agents signg their LGBT rights strategi. Overview [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]In World War LGBT, the seri of cultural proxy wars to fluence a untry’s geopolil alignment wh the Wt or the Rsian Feratn, one man’s eedom fighter is another man’s cultural imperialist.[/perfectpullquote] Rsia’s annexatn of the Crimean Pensula and vasn of eastern Ukrae reprents only part of a larger geopolil battle between a Euro-Amerin axis and the Rsian Feratn. Like the Cold War, today’s stggle has a strong iologil ponent that has riled populatns worldwi. Rsia has ployed this iologil weapon Ukrae, Kyrgyzstan, and on the ternatnal stage an attempt to nsolidate enough power to unterbalance the Uned Stat and the EU. This form of weaponry is as unique as is effective: homophobia. [perfectpullquote align="right" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""] As the Uned Stat and EU have ramped up their ternatnal promotn of LGBT (2) rights, Rsian Print Vladimir Put has nstcted his own parallel iology to stir populist sentiments throughout the world agast associatn wh Washgton and Bssels.[/perfectpullquote] As the Uned Stat and EU have ramped up their ternatnal promotn of LGBT (2) rights, Rsian Print Vladimir Put has nstcted his own parallel iology to stir populist sentiments throughout the world agast associatn wh Washgton and Bssels. As Wtern ernments supported Ukraian prottors May 2014, Put lled them a group of “gay Nazis.” Rsian media outlets referred to the Maidan Square, the scene of the protts, as the “Gayromaidan,” rercg the popularly-held notn that “LGBT” is a Wtern nstct. (3) While Print Obama and European lears nsir themselv human rights fenrs, Print Put has assumed a parallel posn as a fenr of tradnal valu. In World War LGBT, the seri of cultural proxy wars to fluence a untry’s geopolil alignment wh the Wt or the Rsian Feratn, one man’s eedom fighter is another man’s cultural imperialist. Wtern ernments have ed human rights diplomacy (4) as their primary mechanism to promote LGBT rights ternatnally. (5) This strategy has been succsful the EU’s sphere of fluence, enpassg EU member stat, associat, and aspirant untri. However, LGBT rights promotn has prompted a backlash untri wh the Rsian sphere of fluence (Eurasian Enomic Unn member stat and associat) as well as “battleground” untri not aligned wh eher the EU or EEU. In the untri, anti-LGBT opposn movements supplant progrs ma by lol LGBT rights groups. In 2013, for stance, 50 LGBT dividuals monstratg a pri para Tbilisi, Geia, barely ped the wrath of thoands of anti-LGBT prottors led by Geian Orthodox prits. In May 2014, Kazakhstan’s first ceremonial same-sex marriage rulted a btal murr and a brick blocka of a gay nightclub Almaty. (6) (7) (8) In reactn to recent advancements and regrsns on LGBT rights worldwi, diplomatic actors have amplified their posns on LGBT issu. (9) World Bank Print John Kim Yong warned that rtrictg sexual rights “n hurt a untry’s petivens” applyg for assistance, and Wtern foreign affairs mistri stepped up cricism of ernments that rtrict the rights of LGBT dividuals. At the same time, Eurasia, lawmakers om EU member state Lhuania to Rsian ally Kyrgyzstan proposed anti-LGBT propaganda legislatn. (10) [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]Popular fervor agast Wtern encroachment has rulted a petg iology hostile to LGBT rights, guised as natnalism.[/perfectpullquote] Whereas the Wt endors LGBT equaly as a universal human right, active promotn of this belief has triggered reactnary rpons om typilly non-Wtern untri, whose populatns have not experienced dramatic shifts public opn toward LGBT rights as populatns have the Wt. The rult is disturbg. “LGBT rights” are creasgly associated wh ncepts of natnalism and state sovereignty. Popular fervor agast Wtern encroachment has rulted a petg iology hostile to LGBT rights, guised as natnalism. The hidn hand this tradnal valu movement is none other than Rsian Print Vladimir Put, whose state-by-state tailored “tradnal valu” promotn aims to lk LGBT rights as Wtern encroachment sovereign affairs. If the Wt really do re about the stat of LGBT dividuals, mt adjt s strategy to stroy this dangero lkage. The livelihood of tens of lns of LGBT dividuals throughout Eurasia and the rt of the world pend on . The Origs of Internatnal "LGBT Human Rights" and "Tradnal Valu" Promotn In 2011, then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clton troduced the era of Amerin promotn of LGBT rights abroad durg a historic speech at the Uned Natns Geneva, statg that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” This ame serv as the this of LGBT rights promotn. Durg her speech, Clton unveiled the Uned Stat’ first-ever strategy to advance the rights of LGBT persons globally. The Wt’s hight-rankg diplomat, Clton stood before the world and stated that LGBT rights were not a Wtern ventn. Rather, she claimed that LGBT rights were part of a universal package of human rights, which transcend ternatnal borrs. (11) By this pot, the Uned Stat and EU had already begun to actively promote this terpretatn. (12) “Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” – former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clton  [perfectpullquote align="right" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]The UNHRC passed Rolutn 17/19 by a narrow and polarized 23-19-3 marg, wh untri primarily votg regnal blocs. (14) (15)[/perfectpullquote] Shortly thereafter, the ternatnal muny addrsed LGBT rights for the first time when South Ai sponsored Rolutn 17/19 to the Uned Natns Human Rights Council (UNHRC), requtg a study on discrimatn and sexual orientatn. The rolutn exprsed “grave ncern at acts of vlence and discrimatn, all regns of the world, mted agast dividuals bee of their sexual orientatn and genr inty.” (13) The UNHRC passed Rolutn 17/19 by a narrow and polarized 23-19-3 marg, wh untri primarily votg regnal blocs. (14) (15) The regnal flt le this votg pattern lay the area prised of the former Soviet Unn and s satelle stat. While Rsia and Moldova voted agast the rolutn, EU member stat Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia voted for alongsi Ukrae, which was the midst of preparg negotiatns for an EU Associatn Agreement later that year. The solary absence votg was Kyrgyzstan, a untry then head by a Wtern-iendly terim ernment as revered om a 2010 polil revolutn. (16) After the passage of UNHRC Rolutn 17/19, World War LGBT gaed tractn as diplomatic actors began to promote the e. The U.S. and EU ma LGBT rights a pillar of their foreign polici and tasked their diplomatic rps wh promotg the e. (17)(18) In addn, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the head of an ternatnal anizatn which 76 of 193 member-stat crimalize same-sex relatnships, took a posn favor of LGBT rights and urged untri to follow su. The UN’s Officer of the High Commissner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has begun activi specifilly signed to addrs LGBT populatns by prsurg ernments directly and publicly advotg for repeal of crimalizatn of same-sex relatnships. (19) Other ternatnal anizatns, such as the World Bank, the Organizatn for Secury and Cooperatn Europe, and the Council of Europe all took siar stanc. (20) (21) (22) “[LGBT rights] is one of the great, neglected human rights challeng of our time. We mt right the wrongs.”  – UN  Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon As Wtern legatns worked to stutnalize LGBT rights as human rights, the Rsian Feratn emerged as the lear of a gatherg ternatnal movement opposed to the e. (23) Rsian learship began their attempt to prevent the difitn of LGBT rights as human rights by suggtg “tradnal valu” be nsired when applyg ternatnal human rights law. In 2011, the Rsian Feratn spearhead a Human Rights Council rolutn to ject the ncept of tradnal valu wh ternatnal human rights disurse, llg for a workshop to discs “how a better unrstandg of tradnal valu of humankd…n ntribute to the promotn and protectn of human rights and fundamental eedoms.” (24) [perfectpullquote align="right" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]Put blamed the rise of adly nflict Syria and elsewhere on the Wt’s alleged ercn of sovereign ernments to adopt velopment mols not le wh untri’ rpective tradnal valu.[/perfectpullquote] Some twenty years after the fall of munist iology Rsia, the Wt’s foc on LGBT human rights had helped Rsian Print Vladimir Put tablish a new credo he would utilize to nsolidate his power domtilly and worldwi. By stg the protectn of “tradnal valu” as a Rsian prry, Put creased his power by appeasg Rsia’s socially nservative polil base and rallyg ternatnal opposn to LGBT rights. Put perhaps bt synopsized his unter-attack to LGBT rights his 2013 State of the Natn addrs, when he alleged that the Wt was “revisg [s] moral and ethil norms” a way that forc society to “accept whout qutn the equaly of good and evil.” (25) The aim of the tradnal valu movement, he stated, was “to prevent movement…to chaotic darkns and return to a primive state.” (26) Notably, Put blamed the rise of adly nflict Syria and elsewhere on the Wt’s alleged ercn of sovereign ernments to adopt velopment mols not le wh untri’ rpective tradnal valu. Promotn of allegedly non-tradnal valu, he claimed, has rulted “regrsn, barbary, and extensive bloodshed.” (27) (28) (29) “Many Euro-Atlantic untri have moved away om their roots, cludg Christian valu.” – Rsian Print Vladimir Put   Put’s “tradnal valu” argument was not cultural, but a lculated polil cisn to maximize his power amid a plex web of socpolil and geopolil factors. (30) Notably, the aftermath of Rsian natnal electns 2012, Print Put faced signifint domtic protts and need an issue that would rally his base and build support as he rumed the princy. Supported by a powerful nservative movement his untry, Put ma LGBT rights a domtic and global wedge issue. (31) (32) Among other thgs, he enacted laws banng eedom of exprsn of LGBT rights and preventg same-sex upl abroad om adoptg Rsian children. (33) He spoke out agast “non-tradnal” valu, makg the LGBT muny an outgroup—and a spegoat—to further tether social nservatism as a fundament of Rsian natnal inty. Through his anti-LGBT csa and recent ary terventns, Put’s domtic approval ratgs jumped om 60% July 2013 to 88% October 2014 (34). Embolned by Wtern uproar agast Rsia’s creasgly pronounced stance agast LGBT rights, Put entered to World War LGBT by ployg his “tradnal valu” strategy ternatnally, sce the populary of this stance extends well beyond the borrs of the Rsian Feratn. (35) He harnsed homophobic attus prevalent throughout Eastern Europe and Eurasia to ame “LGBT” as a Wtern nstct, th embeddg the LGBT rights disurse to discsns of natnalism and state sovereignty. He ed this to fuel anti-Wtern sentiments, all toward his broar geopolil goals to build the Eurasian Enomic Unn as a Rsian-led Eurasian unterweight to the EU. (36) In the weeks leadg up to the outbreak of nflict Ukrae, Put ed fear of gay marriage as an stment to keep Ukrae outsi the EU’s sphere of fluence. He brandished this new weapon the form of billboards throughout Ukrae, their msage blunt and omo for socially nservative Ukraians: “Associatn wh the EU means same-sex marriage.” (37) “Wtern valu…provoke spicn, astonishment, and alienatn.”  – Yevgeny Bazhanov, Rsian Diplomatic Amy [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]Amid anti-LGBT rhetoric om Mosw, lears Kazakhstan and Moldova have followed su llg for anti-LGBT legislatn.[/perfectpullquote] Put’s geopolil brksmanship has had negative ramifitns for LGBT dividuals throughout Eurasia, haltg or reversg progrs on LGBT rights the regn. Although all but two former Soviet stat gradually eased rtrictns on homosexualy after gag pennce, their ernments by and large are changg their polici om tolerance to active persecutn. (38) Amid anti-LGBT rhetoric om Mosw, lears Kazakhstan and Moldova have followed su llg for anti-LGBT legislatn. From Ukrae to Kyrgyzstan, groups uned by natnal or ethnic inti are creasgly the center pots of growg anti-LGBT movements.  Many of the movements look to Mosw for fluence, adoptg LGBT-hostile reform agendas that duplite Rsia’s own efforts. (39) (40) Put’s geopolil strategy explos Eurasian populatns’ opposn to Wtern sistence that LGBT rights are human rights. As Rsia and the Wt vie for fluence via LGBT rights and tradnal valu promotn, the untri of Eastern Europe and Eurasia have found themselv the battleground of a new Cold War. In World War LGBT, however, the iologi of “munism” and “mocracy” have been replaced by “tradnal valu” and “LGBT rights.” The Battle for Eurasia Countri wh the European sphere of fluence, characterized primarily by their EU membership or ndidacy stat, generally have a high gree of legal protectns place for LGBT dividuals pared to other untri the regn. Meanwhile, untri wh the Rsian sphere of fluence, characterized primarily by their membership or ndidacy stat the Eurasian Enomic Unn, share legal environments that enurage ernment persecutn of LGBT dividuals. Countri outsi a clear sphere of fluence, tegorized as “The Battleground,” have unstable polil environments the realm of LGBT rights as outsi actors vie for fluence the untri. The European sphere of fluence extends om the European Unn to untri wh the European Neighborhood self. Whereas populatns the EU member stat of Wtern Europe boast acceptance rat for LGBT eedom of exprsn the 80th percentile, the member state and potential member state untri of Eastern and Southern Europe are still ght wh homophobic attus, averagg an approval ratg of 44% per a 2013 Pew Poll. (41) EU member stat Greece, Latvia, Lhuania, Estonia, Cyps, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Slovenia, and Hungary all are bound by EU law to rpect LGBT rights spe the homophobic attus that are still prevalent their societi. Per the Treaty of Amsterdam, all EU member stat are obliged to bat discrimatn on the grounds of sexual orientatn, although there are no provisns for protectn of transgenr dividuals. While many of the member stat had few legal protectns for LGBT dividuals prr to EU accsn, the EU’s e of posive ndnaly has rulted a legal environment favorable to LGBT dividuals regardls of whether or not society as a whole embrac LGBT rights. Still, a ntental divi exists between Wtern and Eastern/Southeastern Europe the realm of LGBT rights. Although gay marriage is accepted throughout most Wtern European untri, nstutnal bans on the practice exist member-stat Slovakia, Latvia, Lhuania, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria. The lacunae of EU human rights law perm untri to pass their own legislatn on same-sex marriage and a variety of other issu relatg to LGBT rights, although a sire to further tegrate to Europe may taper this liberty. In 2013, 66% of Croatian voters st their ballots favor of a nstutnal ban on same sex marriage 2013, and only 38% of Croats believed that “gay men and lbians should be ee to live their own liv as they wish.” (42)A ttament to the power of posive ndnaly, the Croatian parliament nohels voted to regnize same-sex upl om other untri jt one year later. (43) EU ndidate and EU potential ndidate untri Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia-Herzea, and Kosovo are not bound by EU law but have implemented polil reforms nohels hop of jog the EU. The Copenhagen creria—the terms upon which a untry may acce to the EU—clu a requirement to rpect and uphold human rights. Wh the EU’s strong advocy for LGBT rights as part of this tegory, recent legal chang throughout the untri reflect this realy. However, there is a strong disnnect between legal protectns and public sentiment regardg LGBT rights the untri, and a climate of homophobia weakens the practil applitn of many of the legal mechanisms. Dpe the legal protectns, the populatns of the untri strongly oppose LGBT rights. While public opn has grown crementally favor of LGBT rights Bosnia-Herzea, Macedonia, and Serbia sce 2010, has dropped sharply the other ndidate/potential ndidate untri. In a 2013 Pew Rearch Survey, only 9% of Turks believed their society should accept homosexualy. (45) Meanwhile, the number of Albanians who believe equal rights for homosexuals dropped om 44.4% 2010 to 26.2% 2012, and 53% of Albanians agreed that “gays and lbians should not be ee to live life as they wish” acrdg to a 2013 European Social Survey. (46) [perfectpullquote align="right" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]“European standards”—higher wag and pensns, rced rptn polil stabily, etc.—provi strong motivatn for untri to implement unpopular polici, but the motivatn is not absolute. [/perfectpullquote] “European standards”—higher wag and pensns, rced rptn polil stabily, etc.—provi strong motivatn for untri to implement unpopular polici, but the motivatn is not absolute. In 2013, the Albanian Parliament unanimoly adopted legal protectns agast hate speech and hate crim based on sexual orientatn or genr inty, and Albania beme an official ndidate for the EU one year later. Meanwhile, however, neighborg EU ndidate untry Macedonia bated a nstutnal ban on same-sex marriage, and the lg polil party Turkey picted LGBT dividuals as “immoral.” (47) The Rsian sphere of fluence extends to those untri Rsia’s so-lled “near abroad” (48) hat were once part of the Soviet Unn but have a relatively weak relatnship wh the EU and Uned Stat. Countri wh Rsia’s sphere of fluence clu members of the Eurasian Enomic Unn as well as EEU ndidate untri. (49) EEU member stat Kazakhstan and Belas serve as Rsia’s most important alli tablishg the Eurasian Enomic Unn. In exchange for jog the Eurasian Enomic Unn, Belas received a $2 billn loan and secured ee tra wh Rsia. (50) Belas serv as a trans untry for Rsian energy to Europe, wh s Yamal-Europe pipele holdg the pacy to transport 33 billn cubic meter of natural gas a year om Rsia to Europe. (51) Kazakhstani Print Nursultan Nazarbayev, meanwhile, first lled for the formatn of such an enomic unn twenty years ago, and he has advoted for other untri, such as Turkey, to jo this axis. (52) (53) As Belas and Kazakhstan strengthen their enomic ti wh the Rsian Feratn, their ernments have also followed su on Put’s tradnal valu mpaign. Although same-sex sexual relatns have been legal Kazakhstan sce 1998, Kazakhstani policians are now llg for a re-crimalizatn of homosexualy. (54) Kazakhstani Member of Parliament (MP) Kairbek Suleymenov lled gay marriage “alien” to Kazakh tradnal valu, and MP Aldan Smayll went a step further, llg for legislatn to classify “amoral” homosexuals as “crimals agast humany.” (55) (56) (57) Belas as well has seen an uptick of anti-LGBT activy om the ernment thori. In 2015, the Belasian parliament will bate—and likely pass—s own LGBT propaganda law, and LGBT Belasians face active persecutn by the state police. (58) (59) Rpondg to Germany’s threats of sanctns agast Belas’ human rights ab at a 2011 diplomatic vis to Msk, Belasian Print Alyaksandr Lashenko told openly-gay former German Foreign Mister Guido Wterwelle that was “better to be a dictator than a gay.” (60) [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]As Kyrgyzstan falls further unr the fluence of the Rsian Feratn, LGBT rights the untry have e unr attack by natnalist-led “tradnal valu” movements. (63) (64)[/perfectpullquote] EEU potential member stat Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, although not current members of the EEU, have mted their untri to jog the future. Prr to 2014, however, LGBT rights the untri shifted drastilly as Kyrgyzstan and Armenia drifted between the EU and EEU sphere of fluence. In 2013 the Armenian Police Department proposed and then whdrew a nstutnal amendment that would have had the effect of a Rsian-style LGBT propaganda ban the untry. (61) Falizg an EU Associatn Agreement shortly thereafter, Print Serzh Sarkisian aga changed paths after he returned om a meetg Mosw and announced that Armenia would stead seek membership the EEU. (62) As Kyrgyzstan falls further unr the fluence of the Rsian Feratn, LGBT rights the untry have e unr attack by natnalist-led “tradnal valu” movements. (63) (64) The battleground between the Wt and Rsia pris the untri of Ukrae, Geia, Moldova, and Azerbaijan, where lack of a clear alignment wh Rsia or the EU has ntributed to a schizophrenic environment for LGBT dividuals. [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]Anti-LGBT vlence sanctned by pro-Rsian separatists is on the rise. (70)[/perfectpullquote] Speakg to an dorium of stunts at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy 2014, Geian ex-Print Mikheil Saakashvili proclaimed that Rsian Print Vladimir Put was exportg his “tradnal valu”/anti-LGBT rights iology to keep Geia and other Eurasian untri outsi the European sphere. (65) Although outsi the fluence of the Rsian Feratn, the now-EU Associate Republic of Geia nohels has been the scene of nflict between the nservative Geian Orthodox Church and supporters of stronger ti wh the EU. In 2014, Geia passed an anti-discrimatn law which, prima facie, would make discrimatn based on sexual orientatn illegal. However, the Geian Orthodox Church watered down this law by sertg a clse on “protectg public morals,” thereby makg unclear whether or not the law actually protects LGBT dividuals. (66) This pattern extends to Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Ukrae, where legal protectns for LGBT dividuals have waxed and waned as the EU and Rsia vie for fluence. In 2013, Azerbaijan held s first legal gay pri rally, which was followed by the murr of an openly gay man later that eveng. (67) In March 2013, Moldova passed a Rsian-style LGBT propaganda law, only to overturn several months later rponse to heavy cricism of the EU and other ternatnal actor. (68) (69) Meanwhile, the fate of Ukrae’s LGBT populatn rts the rolutn of the untry’s current nflict. LGBT dividuals (wtern) Ukrae live relative ease when pared to their unterparts the eastern areas unr Rsian occupatn, where anti-LGBT vlence sanctned by pro-Rsian separatists is on the rise. (70) So long as Rsia occupi the Crimean pensula, for stance, s rints will live unr the propaganda law not applible to the rt of Ukrae. Worse still, Crimea’s top polil official, Sergei Aksyonov, has promised to e force to csh any polil gathergs of the LGBT muny. (71) Operatnal Tools and Strategi The current state of affairs for LGBT dividuals throughout Eurasia is as much a product of geopolics as is of societal preferenc. The EU’s wieldg of posive ndnaly and Rsia’s “tradnal valu” rhetoric have had different effects on the poli of untri, leadg some to stutnalize protectns for LGBT dividuals and others to actively persecute them. To promote LGBT rights abroad, the EU and the U.S. base their strategi on sets of guil that ern the procs. Whereas the EU and EU member stat’ strategi rely on the e of soft power to promote LGBT rights, most of the Uned Stat’ efforts n be found bilateral diplomacy and velopment assistance. The Rsian Feratn, although whout an official strategy for “tradnal valu” promotn, nohels do so through ternatnal anizatns and direct outreach to homophobic populatns throughout the regn. The European Unn, s 2013 “Guil to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Intersex Individuals,” c ternatnal human rights law as s basis for promotg LGBT rights abroad and lays out s strategy to promote this terpretatn. In this document, the Council of the EU lays out four prry areas: crimalizatn; promotg equaly and battg discrimatn; battg LGBT-phobic vlence; and protectg human rights fenrs. The EU tak a dual-track approach to execute the goals by engagg directly wh sovereign stat addn to takg actn multilateral fora. The EU intifi ten mechanisms for s engagement wh non-EU stat: Human rights strategi: addrs LGBT human rights wh EU untry strategi Monorg human rights of LGBT persons: track stat of LGBT dividuals -untry EU Heads of Missn reports: clu LGBT rights progrs top-level untry reports Demarch and public statements: publicly advote for LGBT rights -untry Individual s: proactively rpond to dividual vlatns of LGBT rights Court heargs and prison viss: ensure judicial systems are not vlatg LGBT rights Polil dialogu: advote for polil chang to advance LGBT rights -untry Support civil society: facilate LGBT rights dialogue between ernment and civil society Internatnal tools: enurage ternatnal actors -untry to uphold LGBT rights EU/member-state missns: ensure all European legatns promote LGBT rights Perhaps most signifintly, the EU exerts fluence Eurasia through posive ndnaly of EU accsn or potential EU accsn. In Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the EU has ed EU accsn as a “rrot” by ndng accsn creria to clu protectns for LGBT dividuals. Furthermore, the EU has engaged wh non-EU ndidat through s Eastern Neighborhood Policy, where Ukrae, Moldova, Belas, Geia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia hold a “partner” stat. [perfectpullquote align="right" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]The U.S. has lnched a Global Equaly Fund, through which has spent over $12m on projects promotg LGBT rights fifty untri.[/perfectpullquote] The Uned Stat, meanwhile, lays out s strategy to promote LGBT rights a December 2011 Printial memorandum tled “Internatnal Iniativ to Advance the Human Rights of Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgenr Persons.” Wh this memorandum, Print Barack Obama orrs all ernment agenci actg abroad to take steps to “promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons.” (72) In this document, Obama lays out specific prri, cludg batg crimalizatn of LGBT stat or nduct abroad and protectg vulnerable LGBT refuge and asylum-seekers. To achieve the broar goal of advancg LGBT rights, Obama explicly intifi three primary tools: Bilateral diplomacy: engage wh ernments and others to protect LGBT persons Foreign aid: e foreign assistance moni to plement diplomatic efforts Multilateral fora: stutnalize LGBT rights and build ternatnal support for the e After releasg this memorandum, the Uned Stat promoted LGBT rights le wh the prri and operatnal tools, g U.S. Embassi abroad as the primary vehicl. Further, the U.S. has lnched a Global Equaly Fund, through which has spent over $12m on projects promotg LGBT rights fifty untri. The Rsian Feratn, although whout an official document outlg strategi for “tradnal valu” promotn, on s face has nohels taken a dual-track approach to garner ternatnal support for s e. (73) Primarily, Rsia has ed two vehicl to promote s “tradnal valu” iology abroad: Public diplomacy: rallyg homophobic populatns worldwi around “tradnal valu” Multilateral fora: buildg ternatnal support to prevent normalizatn of LGBT rights Rsia has ed public diplomacy, namely, munitn of ias directly between the Rsian ernment and populatns of other untri, to rally social nservativ and natnalists agast Wtern encroachment polil/societal affairs. (74) By globalizg “tradnal valu” as an iology self, Put is wng sympathi om social nservativ around the world, effectively brgg the populatns closer to the Rsian Feratn. (75) Addnally, Rsia has rallied opposn to LGBT rights ternatnal anizatns such as the UN, where the nservative World Rsian People’s Council holds a special nsultative stat. (76) Case Studi: Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan Loted at the oppose ends of Eurasia, Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan face distct external prsur that shape the fate of their rpective LGBT populatns. Still not regnized as an pennt state by Rsia, Kosovo has iendly relatns wh the EU and the Uned Stat, both of which have had a very strong fluence the untry sce Kosovo’s  facto pennce om Serbia 2000. Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, li the shadow of the Rsian Feratn, where Wtern encroachment has been met wh hostily. Dpe their cultural and historil differenc, the untri of Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan share a number of siari. Both untri are fledglg mocraci, ght wh rptn. Both untri have very large youth populatns, who, due to the lack of enomic opportuny, migrate abroad search of work. Both untri’ societi are tryg to rencile a growg trend of Islamic fundamentalism wh their secular, largely nonrelig pasts. However, LGBT dividuals the two untri face very different reali. As police marched alongsi LGBT activists at a gay pri event Kosovo, they beat and raped LGBT activists Kyrgyzstan. (77) As policians Kosovo work wh Wtern partners to strengthen LGBT rights -untry, policians Kyrgyzstan are on the verge of outlawg any form of exprsn that creat “a posive attu toward non-tradnal sexual relatns.” (78) Kosovo In Kosovo, Amerin and European legatns enjoy a very high gree of fluence rivaled by no other ternatnal actor. As a nsequence, the ernment of Kosovo is aligng self toward EU standards of LGBT rights, th expandg legal rights and protectns to LGBT dividuals. While Kosovo’s ntroversial pennce (regnized by 108 out of 193 UN member-stat) plit this progrs, Kosovo’s  facto pennce suggts that thanks to the “rrot” of the enomic and polil benefs of EU accsn, the legal atmosphere Kosovo will ntue to favor LGBT rights. [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]Atten booed Serbian Print Tomislav Nikolic, whose top policy goal is EU tegratn. (81) (82)[/perfectpullquote] Although Rsia lacks a signifint prence Kosovo as a rult of s policy of opposg Kosovo’s statehood, matas an direct fluence through engagement wh Serbia, om which Kosovo clared pennce 2008. (79) Notably, wh tensns between ethnic Serbs and Albanians still icy Kosovo and the wir Balkans regn, Rsian Print Vladimir Put livered a speech October 2014 vowg to never regnize Kosovo and llg on [Slavic] “Brother Serbia” to jo Rsia a new fight agast fascism. (80) Meanwhile, atten booed Serbian Print Tomislav Nikolic, whose top policy goal is EU tegratn. (81) (82) This diplomatic vis shows that Rsia’s larger geopolil strategy to expand fluence still volv the parts of Europe still wh s reach, primarily Slavic Eastern and Southeastern European stat. Kosovo, the view of the Rsian ernment (and of some EU member stat), is still part of Serbia, a polil enty much easier for Rsia to fluence than primarily ethnilly Albanian Kosovo. While for the purpose of this article, the LGBT muny Kosovo is regnized as separate om the LGBT muny Serbia, the fate of LGBT dividuals both untri is nohels lked to a peace settlement between the two untri. As an pennt poly, Kosovo fac a high gree of external prsure to align self wh European standards as pursu EU associatn. Acrdgly, Kosovo has implemented a number of legal chang to protect LGBT dividuals, om passg an anti-discrimatn law 2004 to rporatg “sexual orientatn” as a protected class s 2008 nstutn. (83) In 2012, the ernment tablished an LGBT Advisory and Coordatg Group to “protect and promote the rights of the LGBT muny,” an stutnal nod to the “LGBT rights” amework. (84) (85) The Kosovo Police has supported the LGBT muny as well, notably acpanyg LGBT activists durg the untry’s first pri march regnn of the Internatnal Day agast Homophobia May 2014. Wh Kosovo, the European and Amerin legatns have based their LGBT rights strategi largely on supportg legal reforms to protect LGBT dividuals. In January 2014, the European Parliament published a progrs report on Kosovo, llg for s ernment to implement an anti-discrimatn project. (86) In May 2014, the Fnish and Atrian Embassi, unr the aegis of the European Commissn, worked wh the Kosovo LGBT civil society group The Center for Social Emancipatn (QESh) to host a nference wh Kosovo ernment officials to discs issu of transphobia and homophobia Kosovo. The Kosovo officials reacted posively, wh Mister for European Integratn Vlora Çaku acceptg LGBT rights as human rights remarkg that “rpect for human rights…would guarantee a better life for all cizens Kosovo.” (87) [perfectpullquote align="right" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]U.S. Ambassador Tracey Jabson tweeted that she was “honored to jo #Kosovo supportg a world of tolerance, rpect and eedom…regardls of sexual orientatn or genr inty[.]” (88)[/perfectpullquote] European and Amerin legatns have also played a large role by g public diplomacy to advance the LGBT rights e. Durg the Internatnal Day agast Homophobia 2014, Brish Ambassador Ian Cliff walked alongsi lol LGBT activists Kosovo’s first-ever “pri” event. That same day, Wtern embassi across the pal cy of Prista flew rabow flags, and ambassadors gathered unr the rabow-l Government of Kosovo buildg to support LGBT rights. U.S. Ambassador Tracey Jabson tweeted that she was “honored to jo #Kosovo supportg a world of tolerance, rpect and eedom…regardls of sexual orientatn or genr inty[.]” (88) Amerin and European embassi have also engaged direct outreach to the public, om the U.S. Embassy’s ordatn of lol media terviews wh an openly gay judge om California, to the European Commissn Liaison Office’s productn of a film on the challeng of beg LGBT Kosovo. (89) (90) In Kosovo, three LGBT civil society groups operate wh Wtern support to advance LGBT rights. QESh advot polilly and socially for the LGBT rights movement; the Center for Equaly and Liberty (CEL) foc on the grassroots level to move lol populatns toward tolerance and acceptance; and the Center for Social Group Development (CSGD) works primarily on LGBT health issu. On the polil level, the three anizatns s on the ernment’s LGBT advisory group, where they share a rotatg -chairmanship. However, the majory of the anizatns’ efforts are foced on advocy and on programs to advance LGBT rights Kosovo. Through foreign aid, the Fnish, Brish, and Amerin embassi have played an stmental role supportg civil society by stag the anizatns, mostly through fundg programs such as youth and ernment official trags on LGBT rights and the publitn of the untry’s only LGBT magaze. Whout foreign fancial support, the anizatns would be severely hred om advancg their e. (91) Although Wtern actors have succeed prsurg the Kosovo ernment to adopt polil reforms favorable to LGBT rights, wispread homophobia among the Kosovar populatn has rtricted their achievements. Dpe Europeans’ and Amerins’ crease LGBT human rights diplomacy Kosovo, USAID reported that the number of Kosovars who believed homosexual relatns were wrong jumped om 64.9% 2010 to 81.3% 2012. (92)Likewise, the number of rponnts who believed their cy or town as not a good place for gay or lbian people creased om 71.4% 2010 to 81.1% 2012. (93) (94) [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]While the Wt has champned LGBT rights the polil realm of Kosovo, has been unsuccsful changg public sentiments. [/perfectpullquote] This societal homophobia hrs the effectivens of the legal protectns for LGBT dividuals that exist on paper. LGBT Kosovars, although guaranteed protectns unr their nstutn, (95) often do not report hate crim due to the fear of backlash om their fai should they disver their sexual orientatn. (96) Moreover, dividuals volved hate speech and hate crim agast LGBT dividuals are rarely brought to jtice, as most of the crim go unnoticed. In December 2012, for stance, a lol soccer club Prista attacked workers preparg for a lnch party of the Kosovo 2.0 magaze due to false mors that the event was to volve gay sex. Although at least thirty dividuals were volved the attack, only three were apprehend, tried, and sentenced to a one-year ndnal prison sentence. (97) Among the re reasons for this uptick homophobic attus is the belief that “LGBT” is a Wtern ncept, a notn rerced by the Government of Kosovo’s stmental e of LGBT rights as a tool for EU accsn. While the Wt has champned LGBT rights the polil realm of Kosovo, has been unsuccsful changg public sentiments. (98) This is bee securg LGBT rights Kosovo, even for the Kosovar policians adoptg LGBT legal protectns, is hardly an end self. One of the Wt’s most vol alli the fight for LGBT rights Kosovo is not a civil society lear or a human rights activist, but rather the Mister of European Integratn, Vlora Çaku, who unrstands that LGBT legal protectns are a necsary crern for EU accsn. Wh strong support om Wtern actors, Çaku and other accsn-md policians have accepted the “LGBT rights” ame and proponed the “LGBT rights” e, even turng the monly-held associatn of LGBT rights as a Wtern phenomenon on s head by suggtg that “[anti-LBGT] extremism…is not a native product but imported om other societi.” (99) Ultimately, polil chang only go so far makg a real difference the liv of openly-LGBT dividuals, not to mentn the untls others who rema “closeted” or otherwise vulnerable due to the tense homophobia engraed society. Dpe the existence of rights and protectns on paper, LGBT dividuals nnot achieve their “full human potential” until they are accepted by society as a whole. This n occur only when Kosovars embrace LGBT rights penntly of their ernment, as is creasgly the se the Uned Stat and many European untri. Kosovo’s ernment and public are experiencg oppose trends the realm of LGBT rights: as the ernment implements more polil chang, society remas creasgly homophobic. The growg rat of homophobia Kosovo suggt that the Wt’s efforts th far have failed to produce the societal-level attudal chang necsary to secure human rights for LGBT dividuals. Even worse, this trend leav open the possibily that the current approach may be unterproductive, dog more harm than good to foster societal acceptance of LGBT rights. Still, LGBT anizatns Kosovo rema optimistic about the future of LGBT rights their untry. (100) Polil chang, after all, forest a Kosovo where LGBT rights are protected as they would be any EU member state. Although Kosovar society remas homophobic, LGBT anizatns believe their grassroots efforts n make change happen crementally, cg the risg youth generatn as a potential talyst for posive velopment. (101) While ternatnal actors may shift their approach to better bat public homophobia, Kosovo’s entrenchment wh the European sphere of fluence and strong mment to EU accsn suggt that LGBT legal protectns will ntue to advance irrpective of public sentiment. Whether such protectns actually apply to everyday life is another story, pennt on the abily of Kosovo’s society to embrace LGBT rights as human rights—a fundamental objective to operatnalize the Wt’s goal of LGBT equaly Kosovo. Kyrgyzstan Siar to Kosovo, LGBT rights are seen as a “Wtern” phenomenon Kyrgyzstan. However, the difference li that Kosovo striv to jo the Wt as an EU member state, whereas Kyrgyzstan, squarely aligng self wh Put’s iology, rejects Wtern terventn pletely. In 2011, Kyrgyzstan had a relatively posive relatnship wh the Uned Stat and EU, both of which poured billns of dollars velopment assistance to help rebuild the untry after a 2010 polil revolutn. Sce then, however, Kyrgyzstan has drifted more closely to the Rsian sphere of fluence, evinced by s closure of the Amerin ary base and s promise to jo the Eurasian Enomic Unn. Whereas Wtern anizatns have fund LGBT rights anizatns, Kyrgyz LGBT activists believe that Kalys, an anti-LGBT rights and Kyrgyz natnalist group, is operatg wh Rsian fancial support. (103) (102) As a rult of the Wt’s dimishg fluence amid risg support for Put’s “tradnal valu” iology, the suatn for the untry’s LGBT people is worseng. The current ernment of Kyrgyzstan is oriented toward Put’s EEU, which aims to further tegrate the already tertwed Rsian and Kyrgyz enomi. (104) This associatn wh the Rsian Feratn, the regnal heavyweight the “tradnal valu” disurse, bar ltle hope that the untry’s ernment or populatn will reject the “tradnal valu” disurse for the “human rights” ame prevalent the Wt.  While Wtern terventn has achieved generally posive rults for Kosovo, is provg trimental to LGBT dividuals Kyrgyzstan. Before the advent of World War LGBT, Kyrgyzstan was tolerant of LGBT rights. Although homophobia was rampant throughout Kyrgyzstani societi, the ernment’s relatively tolerant attu toward LGBT issu led LGBT refuge om neighborg Central Asian stat to flee their untri and build new liv Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s pal. As early as 2005, two LGBT anizatns, Oasis and Labrys, began fightg to advance LGBT rights the untry through public outreach and advocy to ernment officials. (105) [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]The Kyrgyz ernment stopped the screeng of the film I Am Mlim and Gay, cg a law prohibg “extremist acts.” (106) (107)[/perfectpullquote] Durg the late 2000s, U.S. and EU legatns creased their LGBT rights efforts Kyrgyzstan. In 2012, the EU and French ernment partnered wh civil society anizatn Bir Düynö to screen the film I Am Mlim and Gay at a human rights film ftival; however, the Kyrgyz ernment stopped the screeng, cg a law prohibg “extremist acts.” (106) (107) Several months later, USAID sponsored an event at a night club Bishkek to mark the Internatnal Day agast Homophobia, providg a venue for lol human rights activists to llaborate on their rpective LGBT rights strategi. U.S., EU, and other ternatnal legatns also actively ed ternatnal fora to exert prsure on the ernment of Kyrgyzstan. The OSCE was one of the first to act on LGBT rights, emphasizg a 2010 report that Kyrgyzstan was “a lear …progrsive legislatn Central Asia” but noted the ernment’s poor rerd on LGBT rights. (108) In April 2014, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe granted Kyrgyzstan a “partnership for mocracy” stat while g the opportuny to cricize Kyrgyzstan’s human rights rerd. [perfectpullquote align="left" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]Anti-LGBT activists have creased their threats agast human rights protectors and LGBT dividuals the untry.[/perfectpullquote] As Wtern actors promoted LGBT rights Kyrgyzstan, the “tradnal valu” unter-movement went om simmerg to full flame amongst the untry’s nservative populatn and Rsia-oriented ernment officials. In January 2014, Human Rights Watch released a report tailg extensive abe of LGBT dividuals by Kyrgyzstani police. Subsequently, Actg Grand Mufti Maksat Hajji Toktomhev clared a fatwa—an Islamic legal pronouncement—agast homosexualy, upled wh a warng that the natnal ernment should beware of “public anizatns that dissemate social disrd.” (109) Jt days later, a group of 80 Kyrgyz natnalists protted at the U.S. Embassy Bishkek agast the embassy’s “terventn ternal issu of Kyrgyzstan” via fancial support of LGBT-iendly NGOs Kyrgyzstan and spreadg “propaganda for homosexualy.” (110) (111) The same group, Kalys, later obstcted a Freedom Hoe meetg the more nservative cy of Osh, threateng s untry director, whom the group lled an “enemy of the fay” for promotg homosexualy. (112) (113) Sce then, anti-LGBT activists have creased their threats agast human rights protectors and LGBT dividuals the untry. When LGBT activists prsured the ernment to addrs the issu, officials rpond wh the opn that “the people of the Kyrgyz Republic are not ready to accept the mos of life” (114) (115) Phg the ernment to protect LGBT dividuals, they claimed, would be an afont to the tradnal valu of the Kyrgyz people. (116) The tone of the ernment quickly went om ut to hostile. Amidst the risg anti-LGBT disurse the untry, the parliament’s Human Rights Commtee troduced an LGBT propaganda bill more extreme than s Rsian variant, s goal to prevent “posive attus toward non-tradnal sexual relatns.” (117) Unr this bill, anyone who distributed or dissemated rmatn that may create such a posive attu fac penalti of up to one year of imprisonment of a fe equivalent to half the monthly average salary the untry. (118) As this bill currently advanc to the floor of parliament for a vote, human rights activists and LGBT dividuals have spoken out, llg for lol and ternatnal support to rail the bill. Their livelihoods at stake, LGBT civil society learship recently released a muniqué implorg Wtern actors to tone down their public rhetoric and solicg support om lol actors and “non-Wtern” untri. (119) Young activist Danik Kasmamytov explas the logic behd this solicatn statg: “We are very much aaid of the rhetoric that LGBT rights e om the Wt.” (120) The lk between LGBT rights and Wtern terventnism is dangero for LGBT dividuals Kyrgyzstan bee jects natnal inty to an already difficult renciliatn between Put’s “tradnal valu” and Clton’s “human realy.” Recently, human rights activist Ilya Lash, an ethnic Ukraian, fled Kyrgyzstan after a seri of threats for his LGBT rights advocy. Prr to Lash’s parture, Kalys activists burned his photo while prottg ont of the U.S. Embassy. However, rather than accg him of assltg the tradnal valu of the Kyrgyz people, Kalys stead acced Lash of tryg to brg about a “Ukrae-style revolutn” Kyrgyzstan. They claimed he and his Wtern patrts were g LGBT rights as an stment to change the geopolil orientatn of the untry, whose operatn wh the Wt has wavered recent years, but whose ti wh Rsia have only grown. [perfectpullquote align="right" borrtop="false" ce="" lk="" lor="" class="" size=""]The parallel of the events Kyrgyzstan to recent events Ukrae is strikg.[/perfectpullquote] The parallel of the events Kyrgyzstan to recent events Ukrae is strikg. In both suatns, LGBT rights are not an end, but an stment for geopolil ga, om the vantage pot of the opposg parti. In Ukrae, Rsia ed LGBT rights to rile lol populatns agast EU accsn. In Kyrgyzstan, natnalists claim that the Wt is g LGBT rights to rally polil sentiment agast Rsia. The LGBT rights disurse be disurse not about human rights at all; stead, is about Wtern encroachment Kyrgyzstan, or Rsian encroachment Ukrae. The surge anti-LGBT legislatn and anti-LGBT vlence Kyrgyzstan and other untri throughout Eurasia and the world is a rponse to a natnal inty threat, evinced by the rise of natnalist groups assumg the mantle of the battle for the protectn of “tradnal valu.” Kalys and many siar anizatns throughout Eurasia are groups nsistg of natnalists, not of tradnal value-ists. This lk—LGBT rights and natnal inty—serv to the triment of the LGBT rights e due to the rampant homophobia still prevalent throughout most of the world. It is for this reason that LGBT rights activists are fearful of this lkage; is to their peril. As two world wars and untls other nflicts have tght , natnalism n be a dangero force. Movg Forward The Kosovo Constutn picts LGBT rights wh the realm of “human rights,” while Kyrgyzstan’s proposed LGBT propaganda law picts LGBT rights as “non-tradnal” valu. This divergence is no cince. The Wt is wng on LGBT rights Kosovo; is losg Kyrgyzstan. Rsia is wng on tradnal valu Kyrgyzstan; is losg Kosovo. If Wtern lears re about LGBT rights, they mt ponr: how n we make “LGBT rights” a tradnal value? Unfortunately, this may be a very difficult, if not impossible task. Wtern lears n, however, improve the suatn for LGBT dividuals Kyrgyzstan and throughout Eurasia by weakeng the “tradnal valu” vers “Wtern valu” rhetoric has fueled through public promotn of LGBT rights tensely homophobic untri. Kyrgyzstani LGBT activist Danik Kasmamytov regnized this statg “we all need to be reful that this [Wtern valu] rhetoric is not repeated and amplified.” (121) In a muniqué rpondg to the proposed LGBT propaganda bill, Kyrgyzstani LGBT activists asked specifilly for the support of “non-Wtern untri” and of morate relig lears to help weaken the rhetoric that LGBT rights are non-tradnal valu imported om the Wt. In this document, lol cizens and other non-Wtern actors are to rry out public activism while Wtern legatns are to e other means to support the e, primarily behd-the-scen. Reevaluatg LGBT rights promotn strategy, however, do not mean plete whdrawal om the e. Demarch and public diplomacy are jt two of many mechanisms at the disposal of ernments to advance a e, and LGBT rights promotn requir reful and precise craftsmanship due to s highly sensive nature homophobic societi. 1) Evaluate Rults Internatnal actors workg for LGBT rights spend lns of dollars foreign aid and unquantifiable energy diplomatic efforts to advance LGBT rights. However, as Samantha Power recently noted, the current backlash agast LGBT rights throughout Eurasia and much of the world is an ditn that goals are not beg fulfilled. The growth of homophobia and anti-LGBT laws alongsi the Wt’s creased efforts for LGBT rights is a disturbg trend. It is possible that Wtern LGBT rights promotn has both ntributed to the prent backlash and has migated the prent backlash. By monorg and evaluatg LGBT rights promotn polici and programs, ternatnal actors n evaluate the rults of their human rights diplomacy. In this manner, diplomatic actors n know which polici and programs are workg, and nversely, which are actually fuelg the prent backlash. LGBT rights promotn is new to Amerin and European foreign policy, and actors workg to help LGBT people abroad n crease their effectivens by vtigatg what aspects of their programmg are workg favor or to the triment of LGBT rights. Peacebuildg practner Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church f evaluatn as “the e of social science data llectn methods (cludg participatory procs) to vtigate the qualy and value of programmg[.]” (122) In this stance, the “qualy and value” of programmg n be asssed by examg the extent to which LGBT rights promotn polici and programs produce stutnal and societal chang favor of advancg LGBT rights. What chang actors would like to see is up to their discretn. Evaluatn procre should be troduced to the policy-craftg and program-formatn durg the signg/cisn-makg phas and monored throughout the duratn of the policy/program to dite LGBT rights progrs or regrsn over time. Through buildg stutnal knowledge of what strategi work and do not work the prer field of LGBT rights promotn, ternatnal actors workg this field n ga an advantage this iologil battle by buildg smarter strategi. After all, the most signifint rult of evaluatn is the learng produc. (123) Inrporatg the lsons learned to untry strategi n give Wtern untri a one-up as they seek to promote LGBT rights abroad. 2) Thk Grassroots Although is necsary for ternatnal legatns to ntue to engage wh ernment officials, the actors mt take a different approach when alg wh the general public. In a society wh very high rat of homophobia, optg for fancial assistance over public rhetoric may be an effective way for ternatnal actors to advance LGBT rights. Fundg grassroots-level iativ through civil society anizatns may produce attudal, knowledge, and behavral chang necsary to advance LGBT rights, sce lol LGBT anizatns are more aware of what chang are need. Above all else, the Wt should wield s fluence through polil channels but llaborate closely wh LGBT civil society to terme if and when public support is helpful or harmful to advance LGBT rights -untry. Instutnal chang alone nnot suffice for staable or effective LGBT rights attament. LGBT rights are products of parliaments and urts, but tak much more than laws and judicial cisns to produce environments which LGBT dividuals n achieve their “full human potential.” Even Wtern untri, untls gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, and otherwise queer dividuals live a state of self-nial not for fear of ernment persecutn or polil equaly, but for fear of a negative reactn by those around them or for a eply graed sense of shame. Real progrs LGBT rights will not happen whout a change popular attus. In the Uned Stat, LGBT rights advancement was a taboo and dormant topic until relatively recently, when drastic shifts public opn ma polilly safe for socially progrsive policians to support the e. Layg the foundatn for siar public opn shifts other untri may enurage societal-level attu chang favorable to LGBT rights. For many LGBT dividuals, the most signifint form of persecutn not om police and judg, but om their fai and associat. 3) Ask Lols As evinced by high-level LGBT rights directiv om Amerin and EU learship, most LGBT rights promotn strategi e om the top-down. Unfortunately, however, Vice Print Joe Bin’s argument, “I don’t re about your culture—human rights are human rights” is not a wng strategy non-Wtern untri. The bt rourc ternatnal actors have to promote LGBT rights are lol LGBT populatns themselv, who unrstand the unique challeng to LGBT rights by virtue of havg gone through the difficult “g out” or self-acceptance procs their home untri. By takg cu om civil society actors, who bt unrstand the plex dynamics of homophobia their home untri, ternatnal actors n craft smart polici and programs to addrs the untry-specific obstacl toward LGBT rights. “[Wtern LGBT rights promotn] is a lonial approach.” – Rda Mors, Paltian LGBT  activist (124) Although Amerin and EU velopment agenci often engage lol LGBT civil society anizatns to implement programs, ternatnal actors would do well to solic the anizatns’ advice makg polil cisns as well. Although diplomats may have a well-round knowledge of a untry’s ntext, LGBT dynamics is a more nuanced and sensive sub-field of the lol culture. Whout a full unrstandg of how to navigate societal homophobia, a topic bt unrstood by lol LGBT dividuals, ternatnal actors risk wastg funds and efforts through polici and programs that do not work or even n unterproductive to their goals. More signifintly, they risk the well-beg of the people they purportedly are workg to serve; the uptick anti-LGBT vlence virtually everywhere the regn is more than enough evince of this. While ternatnal actors may have veloped toolks to promote LGBT rights, lol LGBT civil society anizatns may suggt which tools may be effective for the actors to reach their goal, and which tools may be unterproductive. For stance, march and public statements n place prsure on ernment officials, but they pose the risk of rilg lol populatns agast LGBT rights. As ternatnal actors may unrstand the polil lcul the LGBT rights promotn equatn, lol activists may provi sight as to what programs may do to support grassroots change. Concln LGBT rights promotn has produced unequal rults for LGBT dividuals across Eurasia, wh the suatn terratg toward the eastern reach of the regn. While Clton and Wtern policians may go down history as the foremothers and forefathers of the global LGBT rights movement, the “tradnal valu” amework ntu to permeate the majory of Eurasian public opn and shows no signs of weakeng areas outsi the polil fluence of Wtern actors. On the ntrary, Put has harnsed this homophobic energy for his own geopolil goals, and he is succeedg. The more energy Wtern actors put to the current promotn strategi, the more fuel Put has to promote his “tradnal valu” iology, and the more leverage he gas to drive populatns of Eurasian untri agast EU aspiratns. The Wt may not w makg LGBT rights part of Put’s “tradnal valu” disurse, but they n w by playg a smarter polil game. Secretary Clton’s emphasis that LGBT rights are not a Wtern phenomenon should be the re of the Wt’s strategy to weaken the natnalist disurse that is drivg anti-LGBT legislatn and vlence throughout the regn.  Evaluatg the rults of LGBT rights promotn, focg on grassroots efforts to bat the natnalist/anti-LGBT lkage, and rporatg lol LGBT activists to policymakg are jt a few ways Wtern actors may reexame their strategi to improve the livelihoods of lns of LGBT dividuals throughout Eurasia and the rt of the world. Whether or not Wtern actors were aware of the potential nsequenc of their actns, their terventn on LGBT rights has had dire nsequenc for LGBT populatns untri outsi the bounds of Wtern fluence. Wtern actors rry the rponsibily of ensurg that their LGBT human rights diplomacy is ed workg toward the goal of ensurg that LGBT rights are realized as human rights, and not unter to .     •     •     • Catn Rohrich, Kyle Jam. "Human Rights Diplomacy Amidst "World War LGBT": Re-examg Wtern Promotn of LGBT Rights Light of the “Tradnal Valu” Disurse." In Transatlantic Perspectiv on Diplomacy and Diversy, eded by Anthony Chase, 69-96. New York: Humany Actn Prs, 2015. Referenc Termology adopted om the Amerin Psychologil Associatn. For the purpos of this paper, LGBT is fed as “Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, or otherwise queer.” This paper opts for the shorter acronym to reprent the larger muny of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, tersex, asexual, pansexual, or otherwise queer/qutng dividuals. Pl Wley Sullivan. 2014. “‘Gay Nazis’ Fuelg Ukrae Uprisg, Put Says.” Accsed June 29 Defed as “bilateral or multilateral diplomatic negotiatn and persuasn for the specific purpose of protectg human rights,” as fed by Michael O’Flaherty, Zdzislaw Kedzia, Amrei Müller and Gee Ulrich (eds.) Human Rights Diplomacy: Contemporary Perspectiv (Lein, The Netherlands, Konklijke Brill NV, 2011). In Kosovo and Serbia, for stance, the EU has succeed g posive ndnaly to motivate the ernments of the untri to reform laws to state nstutnal protectns for LGBT dividuals. The rults have been beneficial: an LGBT dividual has more legal safeguards Serbia than an LGBT dividual Nebraska, and Kosovar LGBT anizatns Center for Equaly and Liberty (CEL) and the Center for Social Emancipatn and Liberty (QESh) believe LGBT rights Kosovo are movg a posive directn (Author Interview, Center for Social Emancipatn (QESh). June 16, 2014. Prista, Kosovo). Rad Free Europe/Rad Free Liberty. “Antigay Activists Build Wall Kazakhstan’s Largt Cy.” Accsed July 13, 2014. Daily News News Team. 2013. “В Караганде ‘Поженились Две Лесбиянки’” Accsed July 13, 2014. BBC News Team. 2014. “Kazakhstan: Btal Killg Ends First ‘Gay Marriage.’” Accsed July 13, 2014. The year 2014 proved a landmark year advancements and regrsns for the global LGBT rights movement. In the Uned Stat, urts om Oklahoma to Michigan ntued to strike down gay marriage bans. Northern Cyps removed same-sex relatns om s crimal , and Stland approved gay marriage. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India restated the crimalizatn of sodomy, a lonial-era law that had been led unnstutnal 2009. Uganda and Nigeria both enacted laws crimalizg same-sex relatns wh punishments rangg om ten-year imprisonment to ath. Th far, Rsia and Lhuania are the only two untri to have enacted Rsian-style anti-LGBT propaganda laws. The 2013 law enacted Moldova was overturned, and a proposed law was whdrawn Armenia. Siar laws are currently pendg Latvia, Ukrae, Geia, and Kyrgyzstan. See Human Rights First. 2014. “Spread of Rsian-style Propaganda Laws.” Accsed December 1. By packagg LGBT rights as human rights, promotg untri and stutns n argue that other untri are bound by ternatnal law to protect LGBT rights the manner promoter-untri see f, regardls of whether or not a untry supports the ncept. The backlash of this promotn, th, has been wrought wh cri of cultural imperialism and gement upon state sovereignty. In June 2010, the Council of the European Unn adopted a “Toolk to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr (LGBT) People,” taskg EU reprentativ to work toward crimalizatn of homosexualy, promote LGBT equaly and non-discrimatn, and protect human rights fenrs s missns abroad. Likewise, U.S. Print Barack Obama issued a memorandum December 2011 directg Amerin foreign affairs agenci to, among other thgs, “bat the crimalizatn of LGBT stat or nduct abroad” and to “ensure swift and meangful U.S. rpons to human rights ab of LGBT persons abroad. UN Human Rights Council rolutn 17/19, Human rights, Sexual Orientatn and Genr Inty : rolutn, A/HRC/RES/17/19 (14 July 2011), available om: Ain untri largely opposed the rolutn, wh Angola, Cameroon, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Mrania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda votg agast the rolutn; South Ai and Mri votg for the rolutn; as Burka Faso and Zambia abstaed. Predomantly Mlim Asian untri opposed the rolutn, wh Bahra, Banglash, Jordan, Malaysia, the Maldiv, Pakistan, Qatar, and Sdi Arabia votg agast the rolutn. East Asian untri by large voted for the rolutn, wh Japan, South Korea, and Thailand votg for the rolutn, as Cha abstaed. Lat Amerin untri Argenta, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexi, and Uguay all voted for the proposal. In Wtern Europe and North Ameri, Belgium, France, Norway, Spa, Swzerland, the Uned Kgdom, and the Uned Stat voted for the proposal. The posns of the “LGBT rights” and “tradnal valu” arguments n be summed up the reactns of Amerin and Mranian diplomats rerd after the rolutn’s passage. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Internatnal Organizatns Suzanne Nossel told CNN that the South Ai rolutn was a “cril begng of a universal regnn of a new set of rights that forms part of the ternatnal system.” Exprsg his outrage to the difitn of such rights, a Mranian diplomat remarked that the rolutn “replace[d] the natural rights of a human beg wh an unnatural right.” Current trends suggt that a “Wt agast the rt” divi ntu to exist ternatnal disurse on LGBT human rights. On September 26, 2014, the UN Human Rights Council passed by a 25-14 vote a rolutn nearly intil to that of September of 2011, llg for the UN High Commissner of Human Rights to produce an annual report on “battg human rights vlatns on the basis of genr and sexual inty. As 2011, the vote remaed spl along primarily regnal l. European, Amerin, and several East Asian untri supported the rolutn, while Ain and Middle Eastern untri joed the Rsian Feratn opposn. As early as June 2010, the Council of the European Unn adopted a “Toolk to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr (LGBT) People,” taskg EU reprentativ to work toward crimalizatn of homosexualy, promote LGBT equaly and non-discrimatn, and protect human rights fenrs s missns abroad. Shortly after Secretary Clton’s famo LGBT rights speech 2011, U.S. Print Barack Obama issued a memorandum directg Amerin foreign affairs agenci to, among other thgs, “bat the crimalizatn of LGBT stat or nduct abroad” and to “ensure swift and meangful U.S. rpons to human rights ab of LGBT persons abroad.” Currently, Wtern legatns abroad ntue their LGBT human rights diplomatic efforts g a variety of tools, to be discsed the next sectn. For stance, the U.S. Embassy Rsia sponsors a webse where gays and lbians n publish personal stori. In June 2014, the U.S. Embassy Prista, Kosovo sponsored “LGBT sensivy trags” for Kosovo jtice officials. The EU’s former external policy chief Cathere Ashton publicly nounced a Rsian law prohibg the “propagatn of non-tradnal sexual relatnships,” and the EU llectively ndns member state accsn to require that applint untri have legal ameworks to addrs issu such as LGBT discrimatn and hate crim. In 2013, the New Zealand parliament unanimoly passed a rolutn llg for protectn of gay rights Rsia ahead of the wter Olympics Sochi. Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, among others, have stopped or altered their foreign aid programs to Uganda direct rponse to the passage of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexualy Act 2014. Begng July 2013, the OHCHR also lnched a “Free and Equal” mpaign to bat homophobic and transphobic vlence. The World Bank, an anizatn tasked wh “rc[g] poverty and support[g] velopment,” spend a $90 ln loan to the Ugandan health sector 2013 rponse to the untry’s anti-LGBT legislatn. That same year, the Organizatn for Secury and Cooperatn Europe expand s mandate to addrs issu relatg to tolerance and discrimatn, wh many of s participatg stat cludg LGBT dividuals wh that spe spe disagreement among member-stat on the issue. Four years after s 2010 “Remendatn on Measur to Combat Discrimatn on Grounds of Sexual Orientatn or Genr Inty,” the Council of Europe 2014 tablished a “Sexual Orientatn and Genr Inty Un” to addrs LGBT issu the midst of ntued opposn of COE member stat. See Council of Europe Commtee of Misters Remendatn (2010)5,  Remendatn of the Commtee of Misters on Measur to Combat Discrimatn on Grounds of Sexual Orientatn or Genr Diversy, CM/Rec(2015)5 (31 March 2010), available om: See also Lter, Dan. 2012. “Rsia Snubs Council of Europe over Gay Rights.” Accsed June 29, 2014. 23. Rsia’s opposn to “LGBT human rights” has largely been ignored as Wtern actors found ways to tell the Rsian learship that, like or not, Rsia is obligated by ternatnal law to support the e. For stance, as Rsia ntemplated an “an “Anti-Gay Propaganda” bill, Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, warned that such rtrictns on the eedom of exprsn for LGBT dividuals would vlate a fundamental prciple of the European Conventn on Human Rights, of which the Rsian Feratn is a signatory. See “Council of Europe Head Says Rsia Mt Protect LGBT Rights,” 2013. Rters, May 22. UN Human Rights Council Rolutn (16/3), Promotg Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms through a Better Unrstandg of Tradnal Valu of Humankd: rolutn, A/HRC/16/3 (24 March 2011), available om: Office of the Print of Rsia. 2014. “Printial Addrs to the Feral Assembly.” Ibid. Ibid. Put also argued that the polici leadg to an “erosn” of tradnal valu the Wt were anti-mocratic, as such directiv imposed the alleged rights of a mory over the will of the majory. Although Put’s speech implicly discs LGBT rights, he livered the addrs whout mentng the words, “gay,” “homosexual,” or “LGBT” even once. While Put amed this law as fendg tradnal valu of the Rsian people, social nservatism is not a uniquely Rsian cultural value. The “tradnal valu” argument is ed by social nservativ around the world to oppose LGBT rights. Dpe Amerin uproar agast the Rsian propaganda law, many of the law’s provisns n be found the crimal s of more nservative U.S. Stat. The State of Utah prohibs the “advocy of homosexualy” public schools (see, Tle 53A Chapter 13 Sectn 101 of the State of Utah Crimal Co, available om: ), and the State of Texas requir sex tn stctors to emphasize that “homosexualy is not a liftyle acceptable to the general public…” (see, Texas Health and Safety Co, Tle 2, Sectn H, Sec. 163.002(8), available om: ). See also, Ian Ayr and William Eskridge. 2014. “U.S. Hypocrisy over Rsia’s Anti-Gay Laws.” The Washgton Post. Accsed October 1, 2014. Whereas the role and power of relig stutns is wang throughout the U.S. and Wtern Europe, the Rsian Orthodox Church and social nservativ have been steadily growg power throughout the Rsian Feratn sce the llapse of the Soviet Unn. Among the movements re prcipl are adherence to nservative relig valu and stnch Rsian natnalism. The stutnal regnn of this force Rsian polics me wh the tablishment of the World Rsian People’s Council (WRPC) 1993, led by Rsian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. Sce s tablishment, the WRPC has served as the pot of ceptn for many of the socially nservative Rsian polici that exist today, om the refal of the Rsian ernment to issue perms to gay pri paras 2006 to the draftg of the propaganda law. Patriarch Kirill and the WRPC mata a strong voice Rsian polics, and the Orthodox Church matas a 65% approval ratg among Rsian cizens. Pleased by Print Put’s adherence to the nservative movement’s bedrock prcipl of nservative relig valu and Rsian natnalism, Rsian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill btowed upon Put the first “award for prervatn of Rsia’s great power statehood,” mendg Put for “rtor[g] [Rsia’s] posn” the world. Rsian gay activists and their supporters are tarred as part of a “fifth lumn” along wh the rt of his polil opposn. Rsian homophobic attus ma LGBT dividuals an easy target for Put; the Rsian LGBT propaganda law had the support of 88% of the Rsian populatn at the time of s ceptn. See, David Herszenhorn. 2013. “Gays Rsia Fd No Haven, Dpe Support om the Wt.” The New York Tim. Accsed September 10, 2014. Print Put 2013 signed to law a measure prohibg the dissematn of LGBT “propaganda” to mors allegedly to “protect children om rmatn advotg for a nial of tradnal fay valu.” In rponse to an ternatnal uproar rponse to the law, Print Put stated that the law was not about LGBT dividuals at all; rather, was about protectg children om “stctive” fluenc. While the law nowhere mentns the words “homosexualy” or “homosexual,” preferrg “non-tradnal sexual relatnships” as a phemism, has been broadly terpreted to target pro-LGBT speech. Compare, Mike Adomanis. 2013. “Put’s Aprpoval Ratg Jt H an All-Time Low.” Forb. Febary 4. wh Interfax. 2014. “Put Has 88% Approval Ratg – Poll.” October 29. Although LGBT rights are gag tractn Wtern Europe and Lat Ameri, the majory of the world remas tensely homophobic: 98% of Ghanaians, 95% of Egyptians, 93% of Indonians, and 85% of Pakistanis believe that homosexualy is morally unacceptable.  Pew Rearch found 2013 that this trend was the norm; only pockets of untri Wtern Europe, the Ameris, and Oceania exprsed that homosexualy was more acceptable than unacceptable. See,  Pew Rearch. 2014. “Global Views on Moraly: Homosexualy.” 15 April. Put has lled the breakup of the Soviet Unn “the greatt geopolil tastrophe of the century.” See “Put: Soviet Collapse a ‘Genue Tragedy.’” 2014. Accsed December 9, 2014.. See J. Lter Fer. 2013. “The Rsian Plot to Take Back Eastern Europe at the Expense of Gay Rights.” Buzzfeed, November 10. Rsia, for stance, crimalized homosexualy shortly after pennce, and LGBT dividuals began to anize themselv polilly and socially. However, as the power of the Rsian Orthodox Church and nservative movement Rsia creased, the suatn for LGBT dividuals gradually terrated. In 2002, 60% of Rsians believed homosexualy should not be accepted by society; by 2013, that number grew to 74% of the populatn. Recent years have been marred wh the closg of gay bars, creased rat of vlence agast LGBT dividuals, and active persecutn of LGBT dividuals by the natnal ernment. See, Pew Rearch. 2013. “The Global Divi on Homosexualy.” June 4.   Kalys, a Kyrgyz natnalist group, has proponed an “anti-LGBT propaganda bill” Kyrgyzstan, addn to a Rsian-style bill that would require non-ernmental anizatns to register as foreign agents. See Trillg, David. 2014. “Kyrgyzstan’s Anti-Gay Bill to Outlaw Homosexualy, Activists Say.” EurasiaNet, October 20. In Ukrae, the sponsor of homophobic billboards spookg lol populatns agast EU Associatn was Viktor Medvedch, a close associate of Put’s, whose anizatn is centered on creasg ti wh Rsia. See Fer, supra note 36. See Pew Rearch, supra note 37. Pew Rearch. 2013. “Eastern and Wtern Europe Divid Over Gay Marriage, Homosexualy.” December 12. Andrew Katz. 2013. “Croatians Vote Favor of Banng Same-Sex Marriage.” Time. December 1. See Pew Rearch, supra note 41. See Pew Rearch, supra note 37. (Bolned for emphasis). See Bar Likmeta. 2013. “Albania Is Europe’s Most Homophobic Country, Survey Says.” Balkan Insight, March 25. See source European Social Survey. 2013. “Explorg Public Attus, Informg Public Policy.” “Ma Opposn Urg Protectn of LGBT’s, Rulg Party Calls Them ‘Immoral.’” 2013. Hurriyet Daily News, May 29. For reference on the term “near abroad,” see William Safire. 1994. “On Language; The Near Abroad.” New York Tim Magaze, May 22. Although the EEU remas s fant stag as a primarily enomic operative, Put’s aspiratns for the EEU clu polil operatn and tegratn based on the EU mol, and possible fense llaboratn based on that of NATO. While the EEU currently lacks polil mechanisms signed to “speak wh one voice,” the lears of s member stat nohels share a mon hostily agast Wtern promotn of LGBT rights. Macfarquhar, Neil. 2014. “Rsia and 2 Neighbors Form Enomic Unn That Has a Ukrae-Size Hole.” The New York Tim, May 29. Gazprom. 2014. “Yamal-Europe.” Web Page. Accsed November 1, 2014. Casey Michael. 2014. “Vladimir Put’s Impotent Eurasian Unn.” Foreign Policy, June 5. “Nazarbayev Inv Turkey to Jo Eurasian Enomic Unn.” 2014. , June 6. See Joanna Lillis. 2013. “Kazakhstan’s Parliament Hears Another Call for Anti-Gay Law.” Eurasia, October 2. See Elena Kosolapova. 2014. “Kazakh Lawmakers Propose to Classify Homosexuals as Crimals.” Eurasia, January 27. See also Joanna Lillis. 2014. “Kazakhstan’s Parliament to Mull Sanctns agast ‘Lbianism.’” Eurasia, January 14. Addnally, Kazakhstani policians are also batg preventive legislatn to ban gay marriage. See Human Rights First, supra note 9. See also Val Tsyhankou and Aleh Hdzilovich. 2013. “Prsure Mounts on Belassian LGBT Communy.” RFE/RFL, December 9. Ibid. The Department later whdrew the bill due to alleged “shortgs.” See Dan Lter. 2013. “Armenia Whdraws Proposed Rsian-Like Anti-Gay Propaganda Law.” LGBTQ Natn, Augt 8. Immediately afterward, prottors took to the streets wh banners such as “No to the Rsian Empire!”, and French Print François Hollan announced that Armenia may seek both EU and EEU associatn However, Armenia’s tentn to pursue a dual-track EU and EEU Associatn is yet to be seen. See RFE/RL Armenian Service. “Armenians Prott agast Jog Rsia-Led Ctoms Unn.” Rad Free Europe/Rad Liberty, December 9. Among other thgs, LGBT dividuals Kyrgyzstan have been the subjects of numero unts of police abe, rangg om beatgs to sexual vlence. See Joanna Lillis. 2014. “Kyrgyzstan: Gay Men Face Rampant Police Abe—Report.” Eurasia, January 29. Moreover, the untry is on the brk of passg an LGBT propaganda ban even more extreme than Rsia’s variant. More on Kyrgyzstan will be discsed a later sectn of this article. Saakashvili himself appeared to be g LGBT rights as an stment throughout the speech to rally opposn to Rsia, as his rerd on LGBT rights remas poor. Unr Saakashvili’s thory, the Geian Mistry of Interr cled to prosecute any spects after a mob of thoands attempted to kill LGBT activists monstratg 2013. See Natalia Anteleva. 2013. “What Was Behd Geia’s Anti-Gay Rally?” The New Yorker, May 23. See ILGA-Europe. 2014. “Geian Print Signs Anti-Discrimatn Law.” May 9. Will Strou. 2013. “Azerbaijan: Gay Man Found Dead Baku Wake of First Gay Pri Rally.” PkNews, September 17. See K Gillet. 2013. “Gay Rights Could Be Major Hurdle for Moldova’s EU Bid.” Christian Science Monor, November 29. Subsequently, Moldova signed an Associatn Agreement wh the EU, which is currently limbo as the Moldovan Parliament bat a bill to renounce the arrangement . See RIA Novosti.  2014. “Moldova Parliament Registers Bill Denouncg Associatn Agreement wh EU.”  Sputnik News, July 27. See Rebec McCray. 2014. “Insi the Quiet Stggle for LGBT Rights Ukrae.” ThkProgrs, July 8. RFE/RL. 2014. “Crimea Do Not Need Gay People, Says Top Official.” The Guardian, September 33, sec. World news. The Whe Hoe Office of the Prs Secretary. 2011. “Printial Memorandum—Internatnal Iniativ to Advance the Human Rights of Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgenr Persons.” December 6. Available om: In addn to the two tracks, LGBT activists throughout Eurasia believe that the Kreml is rponsible for fundg anti-LGBT anizatns their untri. More signifint, however, is Rsia’s e of back-channel public diplomacy, which polil alli of Rsian learship (such as Ukrae’s Viktor Medvedch, whose child is allegedly Put’s god-child) rally homophobic sentiments ways to benef the Rsian Feratn. For stance, Amerin nservativ Pat Buchanan and Rh Limbgh have both praised Put’s anti-LGBT propaganda law. Even the Republic of Geia, a untry eply wary of Rsian terventnism, polil and relig lears have rallied agast LGBT-iendly polil reforms, claimg a threat to tradnal Geian valu. See G.E. 2014. “Clash over Europe’s Promotn of Tolerance.” The Enomist, May 22. The WRPC has worked wh nservative groups om other untri to champn the “tradnal valu” e, exemplified by s passage of Rolutn A/HRC/16/3 support of takg “tradnal valu” to acunt when promotg human rights. See “Kyrgyzstan: Police Abe, Extortn of Gay Men.” 2014. Human Rights Watch, January 29. See Tdy Rg. 2014. “Kyrgyzstan Consirs ‘Gay Propaganda’ Ban.” The Advote, March 28. Kosovo’s pennce is regnized by 108 out of the 193 UN member-stat. The Uned Stat and 23 out of the 28 EU member-stat regnize Kosovo’s pennce; Rsia do not. This speech me shortly after rts broke out a Belgra soccer match between Serbia and Albania after a drone rryg a “Greater Albania” (Albania, Kosovo, Wtern Macedonia) flag flew over the stadium. See Associated Prs. 2014. “Drone om Serbia-Albania Soccer Match Found by Police.” CBC News, October 16. See Andrew MacDowall. 2014. “Vladimir Put Weled wh Cheers Belgra.” The Telegraph, October 16. Dpe the crowd’s negative reactn to Print Nikolic, the majory of Serbs support EU tegratn. A 2014 poll found that 46% of Serbs would vote for EU membership if given the chance, pared to 19% who would vote agast, 20% who would not vote, and 15% who do not know. See Government of Serbia European Integratn Office. 2014. “European Orientatn of the Serbian Cizens.” Public Opn Poll, June. Available om: Although Kosovo do not regnize same-sex marriage, s nstutn nohels do not explicly fe marriage as between a man and a woman. However, whereas sexual orientatn is a protected class Kosovo, the untry has no such clse for genr inty. Republic of Kosovo’s Office of the Prime Mister. 2013. “The Kosovo Government Holds Its Regular Meetg.” Prs Release, December 18. Available om: Wtern legatns support this polil dialogue through regular attendance at the meetgs. The European Parliament. Intergroup on LGBT Rights. Serbia and Kosovo Need to Step up Efforts to Guarantee the Rights of LGBT People, Parliament Says. The European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights. The European Parliament, January 16, 2014. Web. Ludwig Boltzmann Instut für Menschenrechte. Kosovo: Project agast Homophobia and Transphobia (Twng). 2014. Web. European Rule of Law Missn (EULEX) Kosovo Former Head Bernd Borchardt echoed sentiments of Ambassador Jabson, Tweetg via @EULEXKosovo that “the #LGBT muny has the right to live ee om discrimatn.” See Krista Marí. 2014. “Morn Fay Is Not Only a TV Show: Kosovo 2.0 Talks to One.” Kosovo 2.0, July 4. See also Blerta Zeqiri. “STIGMA.” EULEX Kosovo vio. Author Interview, Center for Equaly and Liberty (CEL). July 22, 2014. Prista, Kosovo. See Uned Stat Agency for Internatnal Development. Ttg the Waters: LGBT People the Europe and Eurasia Regn. Aeng Carroll, wh Nile Zdrojewski. Washgton, D.C. Uned Stat Government Prtg Office. Febary 25, 2014. , p. 10-11. Ibid. By another acunt, a 2013 study by ILGA-Europe found that 62% of Kosovars believed that homosexualy was a threat to society, and 68% believed that LGBT issu were imposed upon Kosovo om the Wt.  See ILGA-Europe. ILGA-Europe’s Wrten Submissn to the European Commissn’s 2013 Progrs Report on Albania. May 17, 2013. Bssels. Wh the exceptn of transgenr dividuals. Author Interview, Center for Social Emancipatn (QESh). June 16, 2014. Prista, Kosovo. EULEX Kosovo. Verdict “Kosovo 2.0” Case. March 3, 2014. Web. USAID’s 2012 “Ttg the Waters” report shows rat of homophobia Kosovo risg durg the years when diplomatic actors creased their promotn of LGBT rights -untry. However, Zselyke Csaky of Freedom Hoe argu that even the vent of societal backlash, the EU’s promotn of LGBT rights EU member stat or aspirg EU member stat ultimately will addrs societal homophobia, cg Poland cizens’ electn of openly gay and transgenr policians durg the 2014 electn cycle as an example. See “Dpe Shifts Public Opn, There Is Still an ‘East-Wt Divi’ on LGBT Rights Europe.” September 16, 2014. The London School of Enomics and Polil Science Europe Blog. See Tanya Domi. 2012. “Kosovo Government Issu Statement on LGBT Attacks.” The New Civil Rights Movement. Webpage. Author Interview, supra note 90. Ibid. See Chris Rickleton.2014. “Kyrgyzstan Se Homophobic Backlash after Report on Gay Abe.” Eurasia, March 5. See also Ebi Spahiu. 2014. “Rsia Ph Kyrgyzstan to Adopt Dranian Legislatn Ahead of Jog Ctoms Unn.” The Jamtown Foundatn. Eurasia Daily Monor, October 27. Kyrgyzstan’s enomy is heavily pennt on tra wh EEU members Kazakhstan and Rsia. Moreover, the Kyrgyz enomy is also pennt on remtanc om Kyrgyz workers who migrate to Rsia. The Kyrgyz Labor, Migratn, and Youth Mistry timat that between 350,000 and 500,000 of Kyrgyzstan’s 5.7 ln cizens worked Rsia 2013. See Malika Gil. 2013. “Kyrgyzstan, Eyeg Ctoms Unn, Frets Over Migrant Workers Rsia.” The Mosw Tim, November 22.   See IRIN. “Kyrgyzstan: Foc on Gay and Lbian Rights.” UN Office for the Coordatn of Humanarian Affairs. 2005. Web. See The European Parliament. Asssg the Implementatn of the European Unn Guil on Human Rights Defenrs: the Cas of Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, and Tunisia. Karen Bent. Bssels. European Unn. June 18, 2013. Report EXPO/B/DROI/2012/11.  (2013), p. 42. French and EU diplomats then monored urt heargs to protect a lol human rights fenr who filed a plat agast the ernment’s prohibn of the screeng, and the EU subsequently cricized Kyrgyzstan’s handlg of the se a human rights strategy asssment. Organizatn for Secury and Cooperatn Europe. Report on Kyrgyzstan: 8th Round of the Universal Perdic Review—May 2010. June 28, 2010. See Rickleton, supra note 102.. See Col Stewart. 2014. “Kyrgyzstan on the Verge of Adoptg Harsh Anti-Gay Law.” , June 27. See Human Rights Watch. 2014. “Kyrgyzstan: Backslidg on Rights.” April 7. Ibid, supra note 109. Ibid, supra note 110. See Syat Sultanalieva. “LGBT Kyrgyzstan: Stggle for Visibily.” Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. June 30, 2010. Slishow. Available om: This policy echoed an earlier statement by ernment officials. When a reprentative of Kyrgyzstan’s Commtee of Natnal Secury threatened human rights activist Tolekan Ismailova agast screeng “I Am Gay and Mlim” 2012, he utned that screeng the film would ce “relig hatred” and “set the scene for mass disorr.” See Secularism Is a Women’s Issue. 2012. “Kyrgyzstan: Relign and Tradnal Valu.” October 20. Note, however, that this was not the first time Kyrgyzstani MPs employed the “tradnal valu” amework. In 2013, Kyrgyzstani MPs targeted lol femists for performg “The Vaga Monologu,” statg that the play “ntribute[s] to the rrosn of moral and ethil standards and natnal tradns of the peopl of Kyrgyzstan (see Bermet Zhumakadyr Kyzy. 2013. “Was Kyrgyzstan Ready for ‘The Vaga Monologu?” GlobaVoic, April 27. ) Subsequently, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament bated bills that would forbid women unr age 23 om travelg abroad whout exprs permissn om their parents, or requirg all domtic NGOs that receive foreign fundg register as “foreign agents.” See Pk News. 2014. “Kyrgyzstan Parliamentary Commtee Pass Bill to Ban LGBT ‘Propaganda.’ June 25.   See Sie Armage. 2014. “Rsian-Style ‘Gay Propaganda’ Ban Advanc Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament.” Buzzfeed, June 20. Dastan Kasmamytov, Rlan Kim, Syat Sutanalieva, and Amir Mambetov. 2014. “Five Ways Global Communy Can Support Efforts of LGBTIQ Activists Kyrgyzstan to Stop Homophobic Propaganda Bill.” Organizatnal Communiqué. October 22. Author Interview, Dastan (Danik) Kasmamytov. July 23, 2014. E-mail rrponnce. Ibid. Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church. “Evaluatg Peacebuildg: Not Yet All It Could Be.” B. At, M. Fischer, H.J. Glsmann (eds.) 2011.Advancg Conflict Transformatn. The Berghof Handbook II. Oplan/Framgton Hills: Barabara Budrich Publishers. Although ltle data currently exists throughout much of the world that may be relevant for LGBT rights policy and program evaluatn, ternatnal actors n partner to stutnalize data llectn this field. For the immediate future, actors may monor and evaluate their programs through other means until more data be readily accsible. See Associated Prs Warsaw. 2014. “Obama Us Embassi to Ph for LGBT Rights Abroad.” The Guardian, June 28. * gay kyrgyzstan *

Plans by LGBT activists to celebrate a day agast homophobia Kyrgyzstan were spoiled when their party at a trendy Bishkek rtrant was ed by natnalist, wannabe gay-weddg crashers. * gay kyrgyzstan *

An anti-gay bill Kyrgyzstan which has been nmned by human rights mpaigners, has passed s key send readg. * gay kyrgyzstan *