Gabon Parliament Mulls Bill to Re‑Criminalize Same‑Sex Relations

Gabon decriminalised consensual same‑sex intimacy in 2020 after the National Assembly and Senate repealed a 2019 “offence against morality” provision and President Ali Bongo signed the change into law.

In June 2024, Gabon Media Time reported that a draft amendment to Article 212 is being examined by the National Assembly’s Committee on Laws, Administrative Affairs and Human Rights. The proposal would criminalise same‑sex relations and any public advocacy of LGBTQ+ rights, imposing penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment and fines of up to 10 million CFA francs—double the previous maximum. No official parliamentary text has been released, so the current decriminalisation remains in force until the bill is formally adopted. Human‑rights organisations and the advocacy group All Out have launched a petition urging President Brice Oligui Nguema to reject the measure, citing Gabon's obligations under international human‑rights law.