Mali Outlaws Homosexuality for the First Time

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Mali’s military government has criminalised homosexuality for the first time, underscoring a rise in state-led homophobia in West Africa.

Human Rights Watch reports that the country’s Transitional National Council passed a law on 31 October making homosexuality a criminal offence.

The organisation said the new legislation “will intensify risks of stigma, discrimination, and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people throughout the country.”

On 1 November, Mali’s Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Mamadou Kassogué, confirmed to reporters that the State had adopted the law, which also bans any form of “promotion” of homosexuality.

According to AES INFO, Minister Kassogué said the decision aims to uphold Mali’s traditional and moral values.

He warned that severe criminal sanctions would apply to anyone who violates the law, although details of the penalties have not yet been released.

Mali has been under military rule since 2021, facing a worsening human rights climate as the government continues to clamp down on political opposition and press freedom.

Previously, same-sex conduct was not criminalised in Mali, though LGBT individuals were targeted under “public indecency” and morality laws. The Constitution of Mali has outlawed same-sex marriage since 2023.

This development mirrors an increasingly hostile environment for LGBT people in the region.

In July, the military government in neighbouring Burkina Faso announced it would also criminalise same-sex intimacy for the first time in its history.

Approximately 30 African countries still enforce laws criminalising consensual same-sex relationships. These laws have fuelled discrimination, violence, and human rights abuses against LGBT communities across the continent.

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