DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal ‘s parliament has approved a new bill that toughens punishment for homosexuality in the largely Muslim West African nation, the latest African country to impose harsh penalties against the LGBTQ+ community.
The new bill, which was introduced to parliament last month by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, describes homosexual acts as being “against nature.” It doubles the punishment for those convicted from prison sentences of one to five years to between five and 10 years.
Nearly all lawmakers voted in favor of the bill during Wednesday’s plenary, with no opposition and three abstentions. It needs presidential assent before becoming a law, with Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye widely expected to sign it.
In another change, the proposed law punishes what it calls the “promotion” or “financing” of homosexuality, an attempt to crack down on organizations that support sexual and gender minorities.
The fines for the offense were also raised to a maximum of 10 million CFA ($17,609), but the bill retains the offense as a misdemeanor rather than a crime. During the parliamentary session, ministers argued that the previous 1966 law was too lenient.
The proposed law classifies homosexuality along with necrophilia and bestiality under the “acts against nature” offenses. But it also punishes anyone who accuses a person of homosexual acts “without proof.”
U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has urged the Senegalese president not to assent the law.
“It flies in the face of the sacrosanct human rights we all enjoy: the rights to respect, dignity, privacy, equality and freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” Türk said in a statement.
Laws proscribing homosexuality are common across Africa: more than 30 of the 54 countries criminalize same-sex sexual acts. Senegal has joined countries like Kenya, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, where penalties can include 10 or more years of imprisonment. In Somalia, Uganda and Mauritania, the offense can carry the death penalty.
Rallies in support of the new legal measure have been organized in recent weeks by groups promoting Islamic values, and the police have cracked down on alleged gay people and arrested at least a dozen people.
The proposed law fulfills a campaign promise of the prime minister, who had tried but failed to introduce it when he was in the opposition.
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