Burkina Faso parliament approves anti-LGBT law
In addition to fines and prison time, foreign nationals caught breaking the new law could be deported
The parliament of Burkina Faso has voted to outlaw “homosexual and similar practices”, imposing punishments of between two and five years in jail, as well as fines of between two and ten million West African CFA Francs (US$3,547 and $17,735).
The law, which was voted through unanimously by the unelected, transitional parliament – sworn in in 2022 following a coup by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the current President – is part of a wider crackdown on homosexuality in Burkina Faso.
Foreign nationals who are caught breaking the law would also be deported.
The law will now be signed by Traoré, as part of the legislative process.
This new legislation will make Burkina Faso the 33rd African country to outlaw same-sex relations. It is part of a growing push against LGBT relationships across the continent – Uganda passed anti-LGBT legislation in 2023, and Mali in 2024.
The parliament of Ghana approved a bill of their own, but this lapsed due to the then-President Nana Akufo-Addo, failing to sign it before leaving office in January 2025.