Senegal Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on April 4 accused Western countries of trying to impose homosexuality on the West African nation. Speaking before Parliament, he defended new laws targeting the LGBTQ community, arguing they are part of an effort to suppress same-sex relations—measures that have drawn criticism from human rights activists.
“There is something called dictatorship. There are 8 billion people in the world, but a small group called the West, because it has resources and controls the media, wants to impose it [homosexuality] on the rest of the world,” Sonko said.
The new legal code, which took effect in late March, increases the prison term for same-sex sexual acts from five to 10 years. The law also criminalizes funding same-sex relationships, as well as acts deemed “glorifying unnatural acts,” including promoting or engaging in homosexual activities.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged President Bassirou Diomaye Faye not to enact the law, describing it as “deeply alarming.” “This law exposes people to hate crimes, abuse, arbitrary arrest, extortion, and widespread discrimination in education, healthcare, employment, and housing. Moreover, it restricts the legitimate work of human rights defenders, the media, and the freedom of expression of everyone in Senegal,” Turk said.
The legislation comes amid a rise in arrests of gay people in Senegal. In February, 12 men were arrested in the capital Dakar on charges of “unnatural acts.” Following the incident, Human Rights Watch called on the government to protect LGBTQ rights and release those arrested, while urging the repeal of “discriminatory and homophobic” laws.
Senegal is among several African countries that have enacted harsher anti-LGBTQ laws in recent years. Currently, 65 countries worldwide criminalize same-sex relations, more than half of them in Africa.
