Last year witnessed a surge in discriminatory legislation directed against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) persons across Africa, said Amnesty International today.
In a new briefing looking at 12 African countries, Amnesty International documents how legal systems were increasingly weaponized in 2023 to systematically target and discriminate against LGBTIQ individuals. This includes instances where laws were egregiously employed to persecute and marginalize members of the LGBTIQ community, highlighting a distressing trend of legal mechanisms being used as instruments of oppression.
“Across Africa, LGBTIQ persons find themselves contending with a disturbing regression of progress, facing relentless protests against their identities, and confronting formidable obstacles to their legal and social rights,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
“Arbitrary arrests and detentions have become all too common, treating the mere act of being oneself as a criminal offense. In some places, the death penalty looms as a terrifying spectre, a brutally unjust punishment for simply being who they are. We face what can only be described as a deepening crisis of homophobic lawfare.”
Weaponization of laws against LGBTIQ persons
In Africa, 31 countries still criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, despite the clear contradiction with established African Union and international human rights standards. There has been a trend indicating a stiffening of existing laws in some African nations. In Uganda, for instance, where consensual same-sex activity was already illegal, the situation has worsened with passage of the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023. An ominous wave of similarly worded legislation is on the brink of assent across the continent.
In Ghana, LGBTIQ persons continue to endure persistent discrimination and a range of human rights violations. The situation may become even more precarious for LGBTIQ persons if the Ghanaian Parliament proceeds with one of the most stringent anti-LGBTIQ rights bills on the continent. This proposed legislation poses significant threats to the fundamental rights and freedoms of LGBTIQ persons.
In Nigeria, The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill signed into law on January 7, 2014, by President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria is a sweeping and dangerous piece of legislation, The law criminalizes public displays of affection between same-sex couples and restricts the work of organizations defending gay people and their rights. The law imposes a 14-year prison sentence on anyone who “[enters] into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union,” and a 10-year sentence on individuals or groups, including religious leaders, who “witness, abet, and aid the solemnization of a same-sex marriage or union.” It imposes a 10-year prison sentence on those who “directly or indirectly make a public show of same-sex amorous relationship” and anyone who “registers, operates, or participates in gay clubs, societies, and organizations,” including supporters of those groups.
Law enforcement authorities in Nigeria are using the country’s same-sex prohibition law to target the LGBTIQ+ community while ignoring abuses against them, rights groups and lawyers say, in the wake of fresh mass arrests of gay people.
The country’s paramilitary agency on Monday announced the arrest of more than 70 young people – 59 men and 17 women – in the northern Gombe state, accusing them of “holding homosexual birthdays” and having “the intention to hold a same-sex marriage.”
Following a similar detention of more than 60 people at what the police called a gay wedding in the southern Delta state in August, the arrests show “an uptick in this trend of witchhunt and gross violation of human rights” of the individuals, Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, told The Associated Press.
This raise a concern about several arrest public notice on LGBTQ persons by the Nigeria police. On 3rd, January 2022 The Nigeria police in Abuja issued a public notice to the general public regarding a wanted person by name SHOLA ISAAC ADEBAYO who’s picture is below notice was alleged to be a member of Bisexual club (LGBTQ+) person's, the Nigeria police said Shola who is at large has been reported by one inspector Adefolalu. Police said after investigations it proves he is in to practices of homosexuality.
The police said Shola was last seen at plot 005 Checking point Area, Ilorin, Nigeria. If anyone with useful information’s about him should report to the nearest police station.
In Malawi, LGBTI persons face an alarming and hostile environment, with discriminatory legislation
and ongoing human rights violations creating an atmosphere of fear and
oppression. The refusal to repeal harmful homophobic legislation has
left LGBTI persons vulnerable to harassment and discrimination on a
daily basis.
In Zambia, there has been a noticeable and concerning
increase in homophobic sentiment. This surge appears to be propelled by
an interplay of factors, including existing laws, cultural norms, and
political events that have contributed to a challenging environment for
the LGBTI community.
In Kenya, a Member of Parliament has
proposed the 2023 Family Protection Bill. This draft legislation raises
concerns as it includes measures that could limit fundamental rights,
such as assembly, privacy, and access to sexual and reproductive health
information and services. The Bill aims to prohibit consensual same-sex
sexual conduct, same-sex marriage, and activities related to them, which
would have significant implications for human rights.
Open Call
Amnesty
International is calling on African states and governments to publicly
acknowledge and protect the human rights of all people equally without
discrimination. They must also repeal or refrain from efforts to
criminalize consensual same-sex conduct, as such legislation cannot
comply with international or regional human rights standards and basic
principles of human dignity and equality.
“It is crucial to
acknowledge that these challenges faced by LGBTI people in Africa extend
beyond the realm of legality, encompassing a profound struggle for the
hearts and minds of societies. However, the abuse of law has undoubtedly
heightened their vulnerability and underlines the urgent necessity for
coordinated regional and international intervention,” said Samira Daoud,
Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
