International LGBTQIA lobbying website Allout.org is asking its supporters world wide to sign a petition to try and persuade the authorities in the Gabon from instituting harsh new laws against LGBTQIA people and their allies. Allout.org say "Gabon is about to slam a door that had just opened. Six years after decriminalising same-sex relations, lawmakers are pushing a bill to make being gay a crime again, with even harsher punishments than before. And Gabon isn't acting alone. Across West and Central Africa, lawmakers are borrowing each other's strategies: Niger criminalised same-sex relations in June – for the first time in its history, with 5–10 years in prison. Ghana's Parliament passed its anti-LGBT+ bill in May, criminalising identity and allyship alike. Senegal doubled prison terms in March. Burkina Faso criminalised same-sex relations in 2025 for the first time ever. These aren't abstract laws. Sandrine, a queer person from Burkina Faso, has watched what happens after criminalisation arrives:

"I have witnessed a worrying deterioration in the situation of LGBTQI+ people since the criminalisation of homosexuality. This law has reinforced the stigma, discrimination, and threats against LGBTQI+ people. Our community has documented several cases of arbitrary arrests, summons to the police station under false pretences, and reports of alleged abductions by masked men targeting people perceived as LGBTQI+." – Sandrine, Burkina Faso

This is what Gabon's bill would unleash – and it's exactly what your signature can help stop."

https://action.allout.org/en/m/49fb09f6/