National

Law No. 1/05 of 22 April 2009 concerning the revision of the Penal Code [L1.4].

Article 567: "Whoever has sexual relations with someone of the same sex shall be punished with imprisonment for three months to two years and a fine of fifty thousand to one hundred thousand francs or one of those penalties" (Unofficial translation).

In March 2009, the government of Burundi criminalised homosexuality, punishing offenders with up to two years in prison. The National Assembly reversed a Senate vote which rejected the amendment to the new criminal code. In cases of conflict between the two houses of Parliament the Assembly prevails and president Pierre Nkurunziza secretly signed the legislation into law on April 22th [R1.3].

In February 2009, the Senate of Burundi rejected a proposed amendment to the new draft of the criminal code that would have criminalised homosexual conduct for the first time [R1.2].

In November 2008, homosexuality was made unlawful, following a landmark parliamentary session which also saw the death penalty abolished [R1.1].