Reacting to the adoption by the Transitional Legislative Assembly of the new Persons and Family Code, Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said:

“We welcome the long-awaited decision to set the minimum age for marriage at 18 for both boys and girls and establishing consent between the two parties as the basis of marriage. This move protects children from early and forced marriage, a deeply harmful practice that has long violated their rights and hindered their education, health, and well-being. We also welcome provisions eliminating gender discrimination in inheritance rights. These provisions represent a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to safeguard children’s and women’s rights.

We call on President Ibrahim Traoré to refer the Code back to the Transitional Legislative Assembly for a revision before enacting it into the law.

Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa

“However, we are alarmed and deeply concerned by the criminalization of same-sex relations between adults. This does nothing but create discrimination and violates the right to equality before the law. It is at odds with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both ratified by Burkina Faso.

“Everybody is entitled to respect for their private and family life and to enjoy that right without fear and discrimination. We call on President Ibrahim Traoré to refer the Code back to the Transitional Legislative Assembly for a revision before enacting it into the law.”

Background

The new Persons and Family Code was adopted unanimously by the Transitional Legislative Assembly on 1 September 2025. It defines “behaviour likely to promote homosexual practices and similar practices” as punishable by a prison sentence of two to five years and fines from two million XOF (3,000 euros) to ten million (15,000 euros) XOF.

In Mali, another member state of the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES), the new Criminal Code, adopted by the National Transitional Council on 31 October 2024 and signed into law by the transitional President on 13 December, defines consensual same-sex relations as “unnatural acts” and “offences related to indecent exposure” as punishable by a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 200,000 XOF (300 euros).