CIVICUS discusses Mali’s new anti-LGBTQI+ law with a representative of a human rights civil society organisation who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.
On 31 October, Mali’s National Transitional Council (CNT) passed a law criminalising homosexuality. Mali has been under military rule since 2021 and has seen increasing repression of the opposition and the media, as well as escalating armed conflict. Presented as a defence of ‘traditional values’, the new law reflects a worrying trend in a region where LGBTQI+ people face stigma, discrimination and violence.