Recent restrictions imposed by several African countries on the rights of LGBT+ people had sparked strong criticism. However, the international reaction was much more muted when Senegal tightened its legislation criminalizing homosexual relations.

This predominantly Muslim country passed a law in mid-March doubling the penalties for homosexual relations, now punishable by five to ten years in prison, amid a wave of homophobia and a series of arrests of people suspected of homosexuality. The new legislation also provides for a sentence of three to seven years in prison for those convicted of encouraging or financing same-sex relationships.

The text was promulgated this week by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, despite the appeal from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights not to sign this law, which he said "violates human rights," in addition to the appeal from UNAIDS. In a rare international political stance, a Walloon minister questioned the funding of climate-related projects in this West African country, provoking the ire of Senegalese leaders.

Aside from these reactions, calls for action from international actors have been scarce. While a few LGBT+ rights NGOs have expressed concern about the tightening of the law, major human rights organizations have remained silent. "The government response has been remarkably muted," Arlana Shikongo, communications officer at ILGA-Africa, the African branch of the International LGBT+ Association, told AFP.

Reluctance

According to experts consulted by AFP, several factors can explain this situation: the withdrawal of the United States as a major humanitarian actor, the reluctance of the West, including the former colonial power France, to project an image of lecturing Senegal, considered a relatively stable democracy and an essential partner.

The vote on the bill on March 11th sparked heated debates between members of the majority and the opposition, particularly regarding whether the bill was sufficiently harsh, before it was adopted by an overwhelming majority. A video of a female MP declaring from the National Assembly rostrum that "homosexuals will no longer breathe in this country" went viral.

Same-sex relationships are considered deviant in Senegal, and the tightening of its repression is a long-standing promise of the ruling party, a politically advantageous position in the country. Homosexuality is also frequently denounced as a tool used by Westerners to impose values supposedly foreign to the local culture.

"Sovereignty"

According to Ari Shaw, a senior fellow at the Williams Institute, an American research center specializing in LGBT+ issues, "whenever laws or policies are passed that infringe on the rights of LGBTQ people, it deserves the world's attention." "The United States has always been one of the main drivers of diplomatic pressure in favor of LGBTQ rights globally," but today, under the administration of President Donald Trump, "there is a real vacuum in terms of global leadership on these issues," he notes.

"Western Europe, and in particular France and Spain, for whom relations with Senegal are a major priority, do not wish to comment on the subject," according to Paul Melly, associate researcher in the Africa program at the international affairs think tank Chatham House.

However, some reactions abroad displeased Senegal. Cécile Neven, the Walloon minister, drew the ire of Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who had himself introduced the bill in Parliament. "Let them take back their funding and leave us with our country," Mr. Sonko retorted in a statement to local media, adding that "sovereignty has a price."

According to Mr. Melly, the relatively moderate reaction abroad could also be explained by the fact that the law merely doubles "the theoretical prison sentence for an act that was already punishable." When Uganda's anti-homosexuality law came into effect in May 2023, it was considered one of the harshest in the world, with sentences of up to life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relations, while "aggravated homosexuality" is punishable by death. The World Bank then decided to suspend its financial aid to the country, before resuming it in mid-2025.

At least 32 of Africa's 54 countries have laws prohibiting and punishing same-sex relations. The adoption of this law in Senegal comes amid a context marked by "a rise in homophobia and attacks on the continent and around the world," according to Ms. Shikongo of ILGA-Africa. Around ten African countries or territories provide for sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment, including Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone. The death penalty is applied in Uganda, Mauritania, and Somalia.