# Recognition of same-sex unions in Belarus

Part of the LGBTQ rights series :
Legal status of same-sex unions :
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See also
Same-sex union legislation
Same-sex union court cases
Timeline of same-sex marriage
Recognition of same-sex unions in Africa
Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia
Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
Recognition of same-sex unions in the Americas
Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania
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Notes
1 2 Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
↑ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
↑ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
1 2 Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
↑ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
1 2 3 4 5 The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
↑ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
↑ Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
↑ Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
↑ Indian courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
↑ Most Japanese cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
↑ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse provide residency rights in Namibia.
↑ Romania provides hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status. :
LGBTQ portal :
vte :
Belarus does not recognize any form of legal recognition for same-sex couples. The Constitution of Belarus bans any legal recognition for same-sex marriage.

## Civil unions

Belarus does not recognise same-sex civil unions (Belarusian: грамадзянскае партнёрства, hramadzjánskaje partnjórstva, pronounced; Russian: гражданское партнёрство, graždánskoje partnjórstvo, pronounced) which would offer a subset of the rights and benefits of marriage. Belarus is not a member state of the Council of Europe and thus is not obliged under the European Court of Human Rights' ruling in Fedotova and Others v. Russia to provide legal recognition to same-sex unions. In January 2023, the Grand Chamber ruled that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a right to private and family life, places a positive obligation on all member states of the Council of Europe to recognize same-sex partnerships. The court later issued similar rulings with respect to Poland in Przybyszewska and Others, Romania in Buhuceanu and Others, Bulgaria in Koilova and Babulkova, and Ukraine in Maymulakhin and Markiv.

## Same-sex marriage

The laws of Belarus do not allow or recognise same-sex marriage. Article 32 of the Constitution of Belarus, adopted in 1994, three years after independence from the Soviet Union, states:
   Marriage as the union of a woman and a man, the family, maternity, paternity and childhood shall be protected by the State. A woman and a man, on reaching marriageable age, have the right to marry voluntarily and to create a family. Spouses have equal rights in marriage and family.
The Marriage and Family Code (Belarusian: Кодэкс аб шлюбе і сям'і, Kódeks ab šljúbje i sjamʺí; Russian: Кодекс о браке и семье, Kódeks o bráke i semʹjé) likewise bans the recognition of same-sex marriage. In April 2013, President Alexander Lukashenko said in his state-of-the-nation address that "we should not be forced to introduce same-sex marriages. This will not happen in the near future. That is for sure, when I am the president." In 2023, the National Assembly passed a motion "emphasising the protection and promotion of the traditional family, defined strictly as a union between a woman and a man by birth".

## Public opinion

A Pew Research Center poll published in May 2017 showed that 16% of Belarusians were in favor of same-sex marriage, while 81% were opposed and 3% were undecided or had refused to answer. This level of support was nonetheless higher than neighbouring countries, including Ukraine at 12% and Russia at 5%. Younger people were more likely to support same-sex marriage; 22% of 18–34-year-olds supported same-sex marriage compared to 14% of those aged 34 and above.