The bill announced by Ousmane Sonko on homosexuality is generating reactions beyond Senegal’s borders. In Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, the openly gay Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was formerly prime minister of the country, expressed his concern about the Senegalese prime minister’s proposed legislation.
“Learning that next week Senegal intends to legislate homosexuality or bisexuality as punishable acts on par with bestiality or necrophilia is deeply concerning,” he stated. He said such an action would demonstrate that many fail to understand that same-sex attraction is not a choice, but a fact of nature. “However, rejecting it is a choice,” he added.
This is not the first time that Mr Bettel has attacked Senegal’s stance on homosexuality. In 2024, during the United Nations General Assembly, he questioned President Diomaye Faye on the issue. He wrote then: “This week I had a meeting with an African head of state with whom I wanted to work. And I spoke to him about three conditions. And this head of state replied to me, regarding sexual minorities, that if his population considered homosexuality a crime, he would criminalise it. Being a head of state is not always about doing what the majority wants, but it is also about defending minorities in a country,” he said.
Seneweb
