Burkina Faso parliament passes law outlawing 'homosexual practices'

Burkina Faso parliament passes law outlawing 'homosexual practices'

Burkina Faso’s transitional parliament passed legislation outlawing conduct deemed to promote LGBTQ practices, introducing fines, prison sentences and sanctions for persons convicted, its justice minister said.

Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traore at a ceremony in Ouagadougou on Oct. 15, 2022. Olympia De Maismont / AFP via Getty Images file

The Persons and Family Code law, making Burkina Faso the latest in a series of African countries to criminalize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activity, also tightens rules on nationality and stateless people.

The military that took over Burkina Faso in a 2022 coup has grown increasingly intolerant of dissent amid worsening Islamist militant violence in the West African country.

The legislation was passed unanimously by the unelected, 71-member transitional parliament on Monday and is awaiting the signature of military junta leader Ibrahim Traore.

“The law provides for a prison sentence ranging from two to five years and a fine,” Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said on state television on Monday night.