Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday has condemned Senegal’s harsh crackdown on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people, warning that mass arrests, forced HIV testing, and punitive laws are violating basic rights and fueling fear and stigma. The group urged the government to bring to a halt these abuses immediately, especially as Senegal prepares to host the Youth Olympic Games later this month.

HRW researcher Larrissa Kojoué commented on the discrimination faced by local LGBT people, stating:

LGBT people are being forced to curb their normal activities and to keep from exercising their rights for fear of arrest and increasing stigma. Senegal’s government should call a halt to this crackdown, which threatens everyone’s rights.

In March 2026, Senegal’s Parliament amended Article 319 of the Penal Code, doubling prison terms for consensual same-sex conduct to up to 10 years and criminalizing promotion or support of LGBT people and organisations. The country has also increased the maximum fine to 10 million CFA francs ($18,000). The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) have condemned the legislation’s vague wording which risks criminalizing legitimate human rights initiatives. It noted that the phrase “practices akin to bestiality or necrophilia” illustrated the “influence of conservative groups with a conspiracy-theory-based rhetoric.”

The HIV Justice Network has documented more than 355 arrests made under allegations of  “acts against nature”, at least 97 of which involved charges of “voluntary HIV transmission”, charges the rights group says were brought solely on the basis of the individuals’ HIV status. The detainees have also been subjected to mandatory HIV testing, raising serious privacy and health concerns.

According to a 2010 report by HRW, the organization pointed out that in December 2008, nine men who were attending a training course on preventing HIV were arrested by police before being subjected to torture. Amnesty International later raised concerns that the men’s confessions were extracted under torture and admitted as evidence during their trial, describing them as prisoners of conscience.

More than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries criminalize same-sex relations. Senegal’s penalties now align with harsh laws in Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania with other countries like Uganda and Mauritania imposing harsher punishments including the death penalty. This legislation marks a departure from rulings made by courts in Botswana, Kenya, and Zambia over a decade ago that recognized fundamental human rights of the LGBT community.

HRW has raised questions about Senegal’s readiness to host the Youth Olympic Games from October 31 to November 13, 2026, the first Olympic event on African soil, noting that the Olympic Charter requires for respect for human dignity and non-discrimination.

The post Senegal’s anti-LGBT crackdown ahead of Youth Olympic Games poses human rights concerns, HRW says appeared first on JURIST – News.

A tide of anti-gay laws and rhetoric is sweeping across regions, putting already stigmatised communities at greater risk. In an interview with Geneva Solutions, the Human Rights Council-backed LGBT rights expert, Graeme Reid, warns that the rise of authoritarian populists and the decline of democracy are creating a perfect storm.

More: https://genevasolutions.news/human-rights/un-lgbt-rights-expert-authoritarian-populists-fuelling-tide-of-anti-gay-laws-for-votes

On 2 July 2026, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered one decision and one judgment in two cases which, whilst resting on different facts, raised the same legal issue. The common thread between the two cases is that the children of two same-sex couples residing in the United Kingdom under a registered civil partnership were unable to obtain Polish identity documents, such as Polish passports, because their UK birth certificates were not transcribed by the Polish authorities.

In both cases, A.D.-K. and Others v. Poland and A.P. and R.P. v. Poland, the applicants – in each instance two women in a British civil partnership – tried to have their child’s British birth certificate, which listed the birth mother as “mother” and her partner as “parent,” registered in the Polish civil status registry. However, the Polish authorities refused, citing public policy reasons. The Supreme Administrative Court eventually ruled that including two women as parents on a birth certificate would violate the core principles of Polish law.

Full Article: https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/legal-vacuum-or-legal-uncertainty-in-strasbourg/

The 2027-32 strategy sets a common direction for ensuring that LGBTI people fully enjoy their human rights

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted the organisation’s first Strategy for equal rights for LGBTI people which provides a structured framework for implementing existing human-rights commitments to advance equality and prevent discrimination and violence.

More: https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/first-council-of-europe-strategy-for-equal-rights-of-lgbti-people-adopted-new-report-on-anti-lgbti-hate-speech-released

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Poland has started legally recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other EU countries. This follows a chain of rulings: the EU’s top court said in late 2025 that Poland must recognize such marriages, Poland’s own top administrative court agreed in March 2026, and registry offices began applying this in practice on 22 August 2026. This happened even though Poland’s president vetoed related bills in July and the country’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled against recognition days later.