UN Calls on Senegal’s President Faye to Reject Bill Increasing Penalties for Homosexuality

The United Nations (UN) has called on Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye not to sign into law a newly approved bill increasing penalties for homosexuality, warning it would violate fundamental human rights.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the legislation undermines rights including dignity, privacy, equality, and freedoms of expression and association.

The bill, introduced by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and overwhelmingly approved by parliament, raises the maximum prison sentence for same sex relations to ten years, leaving the final decision now in the hands of President Faye.