Activists urge Senegal to halt LGBT crackdown as Youth Olympic Games near

The fourthSummer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will take place in Senegal's capital, Dakar, between 31 October and 13 November.

It will feature nearly 3,000 athletes aged 17 and under in 25 sports, ranging from archery and athletics to Baseball5 and beach handball.

But as the city gears up for the prestigious moment, human rights groups say the government's approach to diversity and inclusivity flouts the principles of the Olympic movement.

In March, Senegal's parliament amended article 319 of the penal code, doubling the maximum penalty for consensual same-sex conduct from five to 10 years in prison. It also criminalised the promotion of, or support for, LGBT people and organisations.

Nationwide arrests
The amendment followed the detention of at least five men in the Thiès region in western Senegal in December 2025 and 12 men in Dakar in February 2026. Their charges included “acts against nature”, a term used to refer to same-sex relations, as well as “intentional transmission of HIV”.

Dozens of people have also been arrested on suspicion of same-sex relations, including 71 men who were referred to trial in August for “acts against nature”.

“The Olympic Charter prohibits discrimination on any grounds and commits host countries to respect human rights and human dignity,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report.

“The ongoing government crackdown on LGBT people raises serious concerns about Senegal's compliance with international law, the Olympic Charter and Senegal's own laws,” said Larissa Kojoue, HRW's LGBT rights researcher.

“LGBT people are being forced to curb their normal activities and to keep from exercising their rights for fear of arrest and increased stigma,” Kojoue added.

“Senegal's government should call a halt to this crackdown, which threatens everyone's rights.”

Fear of arrest and stigma
HRW says in its report that fear of arrest and stigma drives people into hiding and away from HIV testing and treatment, while also deterring lawyers from representing them.

“In Senegal, lawyers are associated with the cause they represent,” a lawyer in Dakar told HRW researchers.

He added that his colleagues and family had pleaded with him not to represent people arrested on charges of “acts against nature”.

“Everyone has the right to a fair trial,” the lawyer told HRW. “What matters to me is: were their rights respected or not?”

Senegal and IMF strike $2.2bn deal, two years after debt scandal froze funding

HRW wants President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to refer the amended penal code to the country's Constitutional Council to examine whether it is compatible with guarantees of the right to privacy, equality before the law and non-discrimination.

HRW also wants Faye to state publicly before the Games that all participants, visitors and residents will be protected from discrimination and arbitrary arrest.

Senegal's National Assembly, HRW says, should repeal article 319 in its entirety and launch a review to remove HIV status as grounds for punishment.

Guarantees of non-discrimination
The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, ratified by Senegal in 1982, guarantees, among other rights, the right to a fair trial, to equal protection before the law and to non-discrimination.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, whose [number] ordinary session opened in Dakar on Monday, has called on the 54 states party to the African Charter, including Senegal, to protect sexual minorities in accordance with the charter.

In May 2014, the Commission adopted Resolution 275 urging governments to protect people from violence based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

800,000 tickets available
Organisers, meanwhile, are focused on filling the venues.

Ibrahima Wade, general coordinator of the YOG organising committee, told RFI that 800,000 tickets would be available during the competition.

Of those, 300,000 have been reserved for the Youth in Action programme, which aims to involve schoolchildren from across Senegal.

They will receive free tickets for competitions, as well as cultural activities and sporting demonstrations.

A further 300,000 tickets will be handed out through local authorities, associations, community movements and sports organisations, allowing those groups to attend as well.

The remaining 200,000 tickets will be sold to the general public for between 1,000 and 3,000 CFA francs (around €1.50 to €4.50).