Burkina Faso - September 2025

On 1 September, the Transitional Legislative Assembly’s 71 members unanimously passed a new Personal and Family Code that criminalizes consensual same-sex relations for the first time in the country’s history. The law imposes prison sentences of two to five years and fines ranging from XOF 2 to XOF 10 million (EUR 3,000 to EUR 15,000) for individuals convicted of homosexuality or of ‘promoting homosexual practices.’ Foreign nationals found guilty face imprisonment under the same provisions and subsequent expulsion from the country. Rights groups have condemned the law as discriminatory and in violation of regional and international legal commitments, warning it will further endanger LGBTQIA+ individuals and entrench state-sponsored repression. The legislation now awaits the signature of junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who is expected to enact it into law.

Sources: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Radio France Internationale, le Faso, International IDEA

On 1 September, Burkina Faso’s Transitional Legislative Assembly adopted a new Personal and Family Code that sets the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 for both girls and boys and establishes mutual consent as the basis for marriage. The bill, which replaces a framework that allowed girls as young as 15 to marry with judicial approval, marks a significant step in protecting children—especially girls—from early and forced marriages. While the law awaits enactment by the president, rights groups have welcomed the change as a milestone in advancing gender equality and safeguarding children’s rights. However, they have also called for further reforms to address the root causes of child marriage and to ensure broader human rights protections across the code.

Sources: le Faso, Amnesty International, Jeune Afrique, Girls Not Bride

On 22 September, the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger jointly announced their immediate withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling it an ‘instrument of neo-colonial repression’. While the withdrawal will only take legal effect after one year, human rights groups warn the move significantly weakens access to justice, especially as credible domestic mechanisms for investigating atrocity crimes are lacking. The announcement follows a series of joint withdrawals by the three countries, including their coordinated exits the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2025. ICC investigations into alleged war crimes in Mali are ongoing, and victims’ groups in Burkina Faso and Mali have recently filed complaints implicating national armies and foreign mercenaries in serious abuses. The three governments say they will instead pursue ‘indigenous mechanisms’ for justice, though observers say such systems do not yet exist in practice, raising concerns of rising impunity.

Sources: Bèki Takè, British Broadcasting Corporation, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Radio France Internationale, International Federation for Human Rights