Mali

Consensual same-sex sexual activity between men and between women is prohibited under the 2024 Penal Code, which criminalises acts between persons “of the same sex” in several provisions and/or aggravates sexual offences where such offences are committed between persons of the same sex. 

The drafting of the law is unclear, and the extent to which its provisions will be used to target the LGBT community remains to be seen. Nonetheless, Article 325-2 specifies that indecent assault includes “any act of an unnatural sexual nature committed with a person of the same sex” albeit the sentence for this act is unclear. Under that provision, “any public or private comment, image, [or] piece of writing, any public or private act, which approves, encourages, promotes or facilitates indecent assault” is also criminalised and punishable by seven years imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 CFA Francs. 

Mali did not criminalise same-sex sexual activity when it gained independence from France in 1960. Criminalisation was initiated by the current military government, in power since 2021, and passed by the transitional legislature.  

Prior to that, LGBT people were subject to arrest under other provisions of the previous Penal Code, on grounds such as “attacks on morality”, although no prosecutions were documented. LGBT Malians have been subject to significant discrimination and violence in recent years. 

2024 

On 31 October, the National Transitional Council adopted a new Penal Code which criminalises same-sex sexual activity, by a near-unanimous vote. Justice Minister Ma(ha)madou Kassogué was reported to have declared: “Anyone who indulges in this practice, by promoting it or condoning it, will be prosecuted.” He also stated: “We will not accept that our customs and our values are violated by foreign persons.”  

The new Penal Code was published in the Official Journal issue of 13 December 2024 as Law no. 2024-027 of 13 December 2024 relating to the Penal Code.   

2022 

Justice Minister Kassogué, declared that he would be pushing for a law criminalising homosexuality, stating that it is “an unnatural relationship”.  

2024 

An immediate jump in arbitrary arrests and detention, as well as physical abuses based on appearance and gender expression, were reported following the passage of the criminalising legislation on 31 October (see above) and before its coming into force. 

2023 

According to a Human Rights Report by the US Department of State, LGBT persons were arrested under laws which prohibited conduct considered “attacks on morality”, although there had been no known prosecutions.  

2020 

In January, 15 young men were arrested, allegedly in response to allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct. They were apparently targeted due to their perceived sexual orientation. After they were arrested, clinics where some of them had been receiving HIV treatment were attacked. The exact sequence of events, including whether any of the men were subsequently prosecuted, remains unclear.  

2023 

According to a report by AfroBarometer, intolerance towards homosexual persons was high in Mali as of 2023, at 91%. 

According to a Human Rights Report by the US Department of State, Local human rights NGOs reported that LGBT persons experienced physical, psychological and sexual violence, including “corrective” punishment (by which violence is used to attempt to “correct” someone’s sexual orientation). Violence and harassment against LGBT persons was often condoned or tolerated by the police. According to the report, LGBT persons were also subject to discrimination in education, employment and healthcare, and most members of this community hide their sexual orientation and identity. LGBT organisations were also subject to marginalisation and harassment. 

2020 

According to a report by 76crimes, “decency leagues” were formed in 2020: these promised to fight against medical staff whom they claimed were injecting children with medication to “convert” them into “homosexuals”. These groups carried out anti-LGBT marches, including on 23 February and 7 March 2020.  

Most violent acts against LGBT persons were reportedly committed by family and community members, and groups in public settings. The LGBT community remained largely hidden. 

2019 

Following the murder of an imam who was said to have accused his attacker of being homosexual, tens of thousands gathered at a rally in February, as Muslim leaders government accountability for allowing “moral depravity” into the country. Mohamed Kebe, a member of Mali’s High Islamic Council who organised the protest stated: “People who want homosexuality here in Mali, people will burn them.” 

2018 

It was reported that in 2017 and 2018, violence against the LGBT community was worsened by online abuse and harassment, with several Facebook pages outing LGBT persons to families and friends. Videos of beatings were shared on social media. In what was described by a civil society member as a “hunt for homosexuals”, in the period 2017 and 2018 over 700 outing videos and photos were posted, and 90 people assaulted.  

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