Mali’s transition council passes anti-gay law

Text size

Mali’s de facto parliament passed a law criminalizing same-sex acts in the junta-led country, becoming the latest in Africa to pass legislation targeting LGBTQ rights.

Until now, Mali, a predominantly Muslim Sahel country where traditional values ​​prevail, had no criminal sanctions for relationships with LGBTQ people.

The bill still needs to be signed by the country’s military leaders, who took power in a coup in 2020.

But from now on, “we have provisions in our laws that prohibit homosexuality in Mali,” said Justice and Human Rights Minister Mamadou Kassog.

“Anyone who engages in, encourages or condones this practice will be held accountable.”

On Thursday night, the National Transitional Council, which serves as the country’s de facto legislature since the coup, passed a draft criminal code that includes a ban on homosexuality by a vote of 132 to one, according to the council’s Facebook page.

“We will not allow our customs and values ​​to be violated by people from other places. This text will be applied, God willing,” Kassog added.

AFP was unable to obtain a copy of the new criminal code, and the size of the punishment for violating the ban on same-sex relationships is unknown.

A May 2024 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) found that same-sex acts are criminalized in a third of the world’s countries, with some form of death penalty in place in a dozen countries. .

Some 30 African countries ban homosexuality, with Mauritania, Somalia and Sudan all having the death penalty for same-sex relationships.

bur-amt/sbk/rlp