The Burkina Faso government has passed a law banning homosexuality, with persons found guilty facing up to five years in prison.
The law was passed on Monday after the transitional parliament unanimously voted to pass a bill banning the act.
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This comes a year after the country’s cabinet adopted a draft amendment to the family code that criminalised homosexuality.
Announcing the new law on state-run media, the Justice Minister, Edasso Bayala, identified that the law prescribes prison terms of two to five years, along with fines.
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However, experts and activists have strongly condemned the law, warning that it entrenches discrimination and violates human rights.
Amnesty International called the measure a breach of regional and international obligations, while undermining “the progressive provision of the new persons and family code.”
Burkina Faso becomes the latest African country to ban homosexuality, following Mali, Uganda, and about half the countries on the continent.
Mali, a neighbouring ally, passed similar anti-homosexuality laws in November 2024.
Ghana and Uganda have also tightened their laws in recent years, drawing heavy criticism.
In Uganda, the law made “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by death and set life sentences for consensual same-sex relations.
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Many of the African countries with strict anti-gay laws have faced intense backlash from international organisations, human rights groups, and Western governments.
In 2023, the World Bank suspended loans to Uganda over its anti-LBGT stance but later lifted the ban.
Nigeria is also among the countries on the continent that have enacted laws banning homosexuality.
The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act was signed into law by then-President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.
Under this law, it is illegal not only to engage in an intimate relationship with a member of the same sex, but to attend or organise a meeting of gays, or patronise or operate any type of gay organisation, including private clubs.
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