January 01, 2025
Mali is a very dangerous country for LGBTQI+ people, who experience state sponsored violence and a host of other harms, even though until now no criminal sanctions for LGBTQ relationships or conduct has been in force in the country, a largely Muslim Sahel nation where traditional societal and religious sentiment grips same-sex relations.
The bill still has to be signed off by the country's Junta military leaders, who took over in a coup in 2020.
Now Mali’s Transitional National Council passed a law on October 31 and went into effect on December 13, 2024, making homosexuality a criminal offense with 7 years in prison.
The new legislation provides added significant license to stigmatize, ostracize, discriminate and commit violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Mali.
As Human Rights Watch notes, "the human rights record of Mali, under military rule since 2021, has significantly deteriorated since January, amidst a government crackdown on the political opposition, media, and dissent, and worsening fighting between the armed forces and Islamist armed groups."
Consensual same-sex conduct was not previously illegal in Mali, which did not prevent the assertion of religious and societal taboos leading to the violence. However whenever a country legislates anti-Homosexuality laws, it causes a surge in violence against LGBTI people as it to legitimate the harsh treatment.
Previously vague provisions in the penal code—such as Article 225 penalizing “public indecency”—were often used to persecute LGBT people and those with nonconforming gender expressions.
Justice Minister Mamadou Kassogue, who announced the new law, previously condemned homosexuality as “unnatural” and vowed to criminalize it. The law bans the “promotion” of homosexuality, which is undefined, greatly expanding upon those subject to prosecution.
The Junta has sought to justify the law as a defense of “traditional and moral values.” Yet, the immediate consequence has been a jump in witch hunts, arbitrary arrests and detention, and physical abuses.
As of today there is a significant spike in LGBTI people contacting AHRC expressing fear and asking for guidance on how to flee the country.
The penalties for violating the new law remain unclear, adding to the uncertainty of those who might be affected by it.
The law directly contravenes Mali’s obligations under international human rights law, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and African Union Resolution 275, which condemn violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Mali ratified in 1974.
Unfortunately there are few remedies or paths to protection for MALI's LGBTQI+ community, as is the case for the entire region, where persecution against gays is endemic whether there are criminal codes or not. Regionally there is a surge in anti homosexuality legislation. Perhaps this follows the dicta of Yoweri Museveni, who after signing Uganda's new Anti-Homosexuality law (The Kill the Gays Bill) called upon all African leaders to save the world from homosexuality. Other countries such in. the region such as Ghana and Burkina Faso are legislating new anti LGBT law.
By Melanie Nathan
COUNTRY CONDITIONS EXPERT WITNESS
CONTACT: Melanie Nathan, B.A. LL.B commissionermnathan@gmail.com
Melanie Nathan, Executive Director of African Human Rights Coalition is a qualified country of origin expert witness in the United States and global immigration courts, providing expert written country conditions reports and testimony for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, non-binary, LGBTQI + asylum seekers from African Countries, to include those perceived as such, activists, allies and human rights defenders.
Melanie also consults multinational corporations regarding briefings and policy for operations and issue impacted by anti-homosexuality laws and country conditions. SEE HERE
Angola, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Malawi, Mali Mauritania, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania, The Gambia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
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