Burkina Faso’s Parliament Adds Penalties for Same-Sex Relations to New Penal Code
Burkina Faso’s parliament adopted a new Penal Code providing for criminal penalties for same-sex sexual relations in the capital, Ouagadougou, on October 20, 2026. According to parliament’s announcement, all 71 lawmakers who voted supported the bill.
Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala explained that provisions on same-sex relations and their “promotion” were already included in the Persons and Family Code. They were transferred to the Penal Code to consolidate provisions on offences and penalties, Justice Infos Burkina reported. The October vote therefore does not mark the first introduction of a criminal ban.
According to the human rights organisation Human Dignity Trust, the Persons and Family Code was adopted on September 1, 2025, and signed on September 25 that year. Article 210-3 established prison terms of two to five years and a fine for consensual same-sex activity and its “promotion”. That sentencing range refers to the 2025 provision.
In September 2025, Amnesty International criticised the criminalisation of consensual same-sex relations between adults. The organisation said it violated the rights to equality before the law and respect for private and family life.
The new code contains 933 articles and revises the 2018 criminal legislation. The authorities say the reform responds to new forms of crime and seeks to strengthen public security. State news agency AIB reported that it also restores the death penalty for certain offences, including terrorism, espionage and treason. Parliament’s press release does not specify the precise penalties in the new provisions on same-sex relations or the date the code will take effect.
