Senegal enacts law doubling penalty for same-sex relations

UN rights chief Volker Turk called the law "deeply worrying" after its passage in parliament and said that it "flies in the face of the sacrosanct human rights".

The law punishes "acts against nature", a term used to signify same-sex relations, by five to 10 years' imprisonment, compared with one to five years previously.

It also provides for three to seven years in prison for those found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relationships.

According to media reports, dozens of men have been arrested under the anti-LGBTQ laws since February, when police detained 12 men, including two local celebrities, the start of a spate of detentions.

Arrests have often been based on accusations and phone searches, which are reported almost daily, with the names of those detained made public.

The new law additionally penalises anyone who accuses another of same-sex offences "without proof".

After debating for several hours, lawmakers approved the bill by a vote of 135 in favour, zero opposed and three abstentions on March 11.

Under the law, the maximum sentence will be handed down if the act was committed with a minor.

Punishment will additionally include fines from two million to 10 million CFA francs ($3,500 to $17,600), compared to 100,000 to 1.5 million CFA francs previously.

- 'Deeply concerned' - 

Several human rights organisations had called on Faye not to sign the bill, although the response to Senegal's legislation has so far been muted compared to reaction against other recent anti-LGBTQ bills in Africa.

Among them was UNAIDS, which said it was "deeply concerned" by the bill and that criminalisation only "causes people to turn away from health services" such as those for HIV.

LGBTQ rights group ILGA World had also called on Faye not to sign, urging him to uphold "respect for individual liberty and the human person".

In recent years, LGBTQ issues have stirred controversy in Senegal, where gay rights advocacy is frequently denounced as a tool used by Westerners to impose foreign values.

Religious associations in the Muslim-majority west African country have staged demonstrations to demand tougher penalties.

Ousmane Sonko, before becoming Senegal's highly influential prime minister in 2024, had promised to make same-sex relations a crime, upping the offence from its current classification as misdemeanour.

However, the new law, which Sonko himself presented to parliament, maintains the same misdemeanour status.

At least 32 out of Africa's 54 countries have laws on the books prohibiting and punishing same-sex relations.

The death penalty is imposed in Uganda, Mauritania and Somalia.

Approximately 10 countries or territories impose sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison, including Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Sierra Leone.

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