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Niger enacted an anti-homosexuality law on June 11, 2026, becoming the latest country to join a legislative rollback across Africa. Its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali took similar steps in 2025, while Trinidad and Tobago's Court of Appeal reinstated that country's anti-gay statutes in March 2025, collectively stalling years of decriminalization progress.
In Africa, Senegal passed legislation in March 2026 prescribing up to 10 years imprisonment for same-sex conduct. Ghana's parliament separately approved a bill that, pending presidential assent, would impose up to three years in prison on individuals who "identify" as LGBTQ.
Prior to these reversals, the number of countries maintaining anti-gay laws had fallen from more than 90 in the early 2000s to 63. Recent decriminalization milestones include St. Lucia (2025); Namibia, Niue, and Dominica (2024); Mauritius and the Cook Islands (2023); and Singapore, Antigua & Barbuda, Saint Kitts & Nevis, and Barbados (2022).
Africa Editorial Office: Adeola