Burkina Faso passes law criminalising consensual same-sex relations

Author: Peter Clarkin, MA

September 11, 2025

HRRC urges Burkina Faso to end its discriminatory laws against the LGBTQ+ community. Conditions for members of the the LGBTQ+ community in the country continue to deteriorate, and they now face the danger of being served with a five-year prison sentence should they be caught engaging in any consensual homosexual act. Burkina Faso’s transitional parliament must protect the rights of all its citizens, regardless of sexual orientation.

Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traore arrives to the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, on May 10, 2025 [Image credit: Stanislav Krasilnikov/RIA Novosti via AP]

The unelected transitional legislature of Burkina Faso has passed a bill that criminalises consensual same-sex relations in the country. The law comes with a punishment of up to five years in prison for those who are found guilty of homosexuality and aligns with a worrying trend that is spreading across much of Africa in relation to the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala announced on state television that this measure would be implemented immediately, and in his address to the nation he went on to categorise homosexuality as “bizarre behaviour”. The new act makes up part of the government’s Family and Citizenship legislation in which they want to further recognise the importance of “marriage and family values”. 

Those directly affected by this announcement now have to worry about their safety on a daily basis. In addition, the support networks that these individuals have created face the risk of being destroyed, and their lives will now have to be further concealed. The removal of all LGTBQ+ safe spaces such as peer-support meetings, or discreet gatherings  leave individuals with a stark choice: withdraw from society completely or enter a heteronormative relationship.

The triggering of this law mirrors a worrying trend that is spreading across Africa as a whole, where 33 out of 54 countries have outlawed same-sex relations. In November 2024, Mali, one of Burkina Faso’s neighbours, adopted laws that criminalised homosexuality, while Ghana and Uganda have also strengthened the laws that suppress the rights of the LGBTQ+ community within their borders. Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act has been described as one of the harshest and has been followed up by government rhetoric which has been described as “state sanctioned bigotry”.

International condemnation of this law must come from all quarters, with the safety of individuals in Burkina Faso of paramount importance. The spread of laws criminalising consensual same-sex relations within the continent should be of immediate concern to the international community, and the fight for the human rights of the LGBTQ+ community must continue to be reported.

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Glossary

• Consensual – agreed to by all parties involved

• Criminalise – to make an action or behaviour illegal under the law

• Further concealed – made even more hidden or secret

• Harshest – the most severe

• Heteronormative – relating to the belief or assumption that heterosexuality is the default or normal sexual orientation

• Implement – to put a plan, law, or system into effect.

• LGBTQ+ – an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and others.

• Legislature – a governmental body responsible for making laws.

• Mirrors – reflects or represents something else, often used figuratively.

• Paramount – more important than anything else

• Quarters – areas

• Rhetoric – the art or style of speaking or writing effectively, sometimes implying persuasion or exaggeration

• Stark- severe, harsh

• Support networks – groups of people or organisations providing help, advice, or assistance.

• Suppress – to put an end to, restrain, or prevent something from being expressed or known.

• Transitional – relating to a period of change from one state or condition to another.

• Unelected – not chosen through a formal election process.

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Sources

1. https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20250902-burkina-faso-s-junta-passes-law-banning-homosexuality

2. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2060er4062o

3. https://www.dw.com/en/burkina-faso-passes-law-outlawing-homosexual-practices/a-73855503

4. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/2/burkina-faso-bans-homosexuality-as-a-crime-punishable-with-prison-fines

5. https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/26/uganda-anti-lgbt-law-unleashed-abuse-0

6. https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2025-09-05/seguiremos-existiendo-pero-en-el-ambito-privado-la-comunidad-lgtbiq-de-burkina-faso-reacciona-ante-la-nueva-ley-homofoba.html

7. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/sep/06/anti-gay-law-african-jail-term-five-years-promoting-homosexuality-burkina-faso