Protesting against Senegal

National Affiliates of LGB International have written to the Senegalese Embassy to their country. We are deeply concerned by news that Senegal’s parliament and President have recently approved legislation which doubles the penalty for consensual sexual activity between adults of the same sex. We are also concerned that Senegal may also criminalise those who advocate for the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

We strongly support laws to protect minors from adult sexual activity. We also support punishment of sexual abuse of vulnerable adults, in line with 319(3) of Senegalese Penal Code. However we believe that to criminalise consenting adults for sexual activity in private is inhumane and contradicts basic principles of human rights.

Homosexuality is not a European imposition. There is plenty of evidence that, before European colonialism, same-sex sexual relationships were seen as unremarkable and were accepted throughout Africa. Only with colonisation came laws which criminalised this perfectly natural aspect of human nature. These days, foreign interference is more likely to come from extremist organisations which oppose lesbian, gay and bisexual rights.

We urge President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to lead a more tolerant and enlightened discussion. A foundation of a progressive society should be that adults have the right to a private and personal life which concerns and harms no-one else. Senegal faces many challenges although it has long been recognised as one the most developed of sub-Saharan African countries. Taking a different approach to this topic would make Senegal an undisputed leader in Africa.

We have also written our our governments’ foreign affairs departments to demand that they raise this issue in bilateral and multilateral fora.