• Burkina Faso's junta passes law banning homosexuality with penalties of up to five years in prison.
• The legislation reflects a broader trend of increasing anti-LGBTQ+ laws across Africa.
• Justice Minister described homosexual acts as "bizarre behavior" during the announcement.
• Foreign persons convicted under this law will be deported immediately.
• Rights organizations, including Amnesty International, condemn the new legislation.

Burkina Faso's ruling military junta has enacted a law criminalizing homosexuality, placing offenders at risk of imprisonment for two to five years. This legislation was unanimously approved by the transitional parliament, which has been in place since a series of coups in 2022. Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala emphasized that those convicted would face both prison time and fines, advocating that "bizarre behavior" such as same-sex relations requires judicial intervention, according to Le Monde and Africanews.

The law signifies Burkina Faso's alignment with other African nations that have similarly tightened restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights. Countries like Ghana and Uganda have heightened their own anti-homosexuality laws, with Uganda imposing severe penalties including life imprisonment. Burkina Faso's new regulations come as part of broader reforms to family and citizenship laws intended to reinforce "marriage and family values," as per reports by Al Jazeera and HuffPost.

The law has drawn widespread criticism from various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, which described it as an "alarming setback" for civil liberties in Burkina Faso. The organization urges the junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, to reconsider the legislation, underscoring that such measures foster discrimination and violate the right to equality before the law, as highlighted by India Times and HuffPost.