This was stated by Pedro Paradiso Sottile, secretary of the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA) and executive director of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ILGALAC). Following the demonstration in front of the Russian Embassy on April 28, another will be held today in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They will demand that the Argentine State issue a statement and request explanations through the Bilateral Mechanism for Dialogue and Consultation on Human Rights with the Russian Federation.

Illustration: Florencia Capella LGBTI organizations worldwide are mobilized and demanding that authorities investigate human rights violations against gay citizens by the Russian Republic of Chechnya. In Argentina, a demonstration was held last week in front of the Russian Embassy, ​​and another will take place today in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There, the Argentine government will be asked to issue a statement on the case. For several years, LGBTQ+ activists have been denouncing the implementation of a social purge by the Chechen state, based on sexual orientation and gender identity. These violations came to light and caused a global stir on April 1st. On that day, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta The newspaper reported that the Caucasian republic, led by Ramzan Kadyrov, arrested and tortured hundreds of men identified by the police as homosexuals in clandestine detention centers. According to the report, at least three people were killed.

"Cleanse the men"

According to the newspaper, Kadyrov's objective is to "cleanse" men with "non-traditional sexual orientations." The paper reports strong suspicions that the president of the Chechen Republic himself visited the concentration camp along with a group of officials. Further obscuring the issue, Kadyrov's government denied the accusations, stating that it is impossible to detain "people who do not exist in our republic." "If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement wouldn't have to worry about them: their own families would take care of sending them away to places they could never return to," a state spokesperson said. María Rachid, a leader of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Trans (FALGBT), told Presents Argentina has been receiving Russian refugees for several years. “The guarantees here are not the same, and we offered our collaboration to Russian organizations,” he said. He added, “The issue of media complicity highlights that this is happening in Russia, when it also happens in other countries around the world.”

"We are talking about crimes against humanity."

Pedro Paradiso Sottile, secretary of the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA) and executive director of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ILGALAC), told Present: “We can’t just stop at protesting; we’re talking about crimes against humanity. In our region, these events occur with different characteristics, based on religious fundamentalism and politics. That’s why we are mobilized once again by the historic slogan of Memory, Truth, and Justice that inspires all our struggles. We say Never Again to the systematic violations of human rights perpetrated by state terrorism anywhere in the world,” she stated. She also pointed out that in the meeting scheduled for next Wednesday In front of the Foreign Ministry, the CHA (Argentine Homosexual Community), Conurbanos por la Diversidad (Suburbanites for Diversity), and Ciento por Ciento Diversidad (One Hundred Percent Diversity) will demand that the Argentine State issue a statement condemning “these abhorrent acts.” Martín Canevaro, of 100% Diversidad y Derechos (100% Diversity and Rights), stated that in Latin America, the local version of the proponents of “traditional values,” which they claim supersede the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international treaties, is beginning to manifest itself in the discourse of those who oppose a supposed “gender ideology.” While in Argentina they appear as a marginal force, they have the strength and capacity to obstruct our equal rights in Brazil, Peru, and other countries in the region. Canevaro also reported that “Argentina has signed a Bilateral Mechanism for Dialogue and Consultation on Human Rights with the Russian Federation. Therefore, we will request that this mechanism be used to express our concern about the abhorrent acts of state-sponsored homophobia committed in recent months.”

About Chechnya

Chechnya is one of the republics that make up the Russian Federation. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this territory proclaimed its independence, which led to a war with Moscow. Chechnya is located in the North Caucasus, in the southernmost part of Eastern Europe, less than 100 kilometers from the Caspian Sea. The capital is Gorzny. In the 2010 Russian census, the republic had a population of 1,268,989, predominantly Muslim. There have been two wars in Chechnya. The first was between 1994 and 1996. The second was between 1999 and 2009. The first conflict left 14,000 dead, the second between 25,000 and 50,000.