Gabon

In 2019, Gabon criminalized same-sex intimacy with a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a US$8,561 fine. Then, in 2020, the Senate approved a bill to repeal this law, decriminalizing consensual same-sex sexual relations. The government’s move to reverse part of the law has sharply divided opinion and sparked intense debate on social media in the Central African nation, where homosexuality is still broadly seen as taboo. The new constitution, ratified in November 2024, codified the right to “respect for his or her private life” (Article 18) despite fears that the new military regime, which seized power in August 2023, would renege on the gains won during the previous regime, including the decriminalization of same-sex intimacy. At the same time, however, the amended constitution retained Article 169, which explicitly limits marriage to “the union between two persons of the opposite sex.” While there are no clear legal barriers to registration, no LGBTIQ civil society organizations in Gabon were known to Outright as of September 2023. In December 2008, Gabon co-sponsored and signed the non-binding UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, which called for the global decriminalization of homosexuality. It was one of the only six African countries to do so.

*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.