Paris proposes un resolution to safeguard LGBT+ rights amidst global conservative surge

The French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, declared on Saturday that Paris is advancing a draft resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council. This initiative aims to prohibit states from criminalizing LGBT+ individuals. This diplomatic move by France comes approximately two months after Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye enacted legislation that significantly stiffens penalties for homosexuality. Concurrently, a French national is currently held in custody in Dakar under the provisions of this very law, drawing considerable attention in Africa news and discussions on African politics English.

“You can rely on France: it works, and will always work, to advance the human rights agenda,” stated the head of French diplomacy, referencing a “conservative surge” that has been observed across many global regions over the past decade.

Diplomatic sequence initiated post-March 11 law

The new legislation, adopted by the Senegalese National Assembly on March 11, 2026, with 135 votes in favor and no opposition, and subsequently promulgated on March 30, increases the maximum prison sentence for “acts against nature” from five to ten years. Furthermore, it multiplies the ceiling for fines tenfold, now setting it at ten million CFA francs. The text, championed by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko as a measure of national sovereignty, also criminalizes the promotion, support, or financing of homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality, impacting the discourse across the continent press.

Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, had previously urged Dakar not to enact the legislation, asserting that it violated Senegal’s international commitments. On April 16, Pascal Confavreux, spokesperson for the Quai d’Orsay, communicated Paris’s apprehension, noting that Minister Barrot had addressed the matter with his Senegalese counterpart, Cheikh Niang, during a meeting at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

French citizen detained in Dakar

A French citizen has been detained in Senegal since February 14, facing charges related to the new law. According to the Quai d’Orsay, the French consulate in Dakar has visited the individual four times and remains in contact with their family. Separately, on April 10, a Dakar court sentenced a young Senegalese born in 2002 to six years in prison for similar offenses, highlighting the impact of these legislative changes in African politics English.

Globally, 62 states continue to criminalize consensual homosexual relations, with eleven of these jurisdictions stipulating the death penalty. The specific date for the examination of the French resolution by the Human Rights Council in Geneva has not yet been disclosed, a development closely watched by the Panafrican Press and those interested in pan-African journalism.