Regarding the examination of the proposed law amending Article 319 of the Penal Code, relating to homosexuality, MP Oumar Sy delivered a particularly dense speech in the National Assembly.

In a speech that captured the attention of the chamber, the parliamentarian defended the philosophy of the text while responding to criticisms made by some members of parliament.

From the outset of his speech, Oumar Sy was keen to highlight a difference in approach between the supporters of reform and its opponents. According to him, some of the arguments put forward in the debate are based on what he calls "logical-formal truth," illustrated by the classic syllogism: "If all men are mortal and Socrates is a man, then Socrates is mortal."

Conversely, the MP asserts that the position of the bill's proponents is based on an empirical approach. "Our relationship with the issue of homosexuality is an empirical one, a relationship of truth, a relationship of the tangible and the touchable," he declared to his colleagues.

For him, the issue must be approached from the perspective of the values and sensitivities widely shared within Senegalese society. The parliamentarian believes that March 11, 2026, could mark a significant moment in Senegal's legislative history. He asserts that the debate demonstrates the government's commitment to defending what he calls the country's core values, in a land steeped in the spiritual legacy of religious figures like Ahmadou Bamba and El Hadj Malick Sy.

The debate on "criminalization"

A significant portion of his speech was devoted to the semantic debate surrounding the notion of "criminalization." According to him, some opponents are focusing more on terminology than on the concrete effects of the text. "You're searching for terminology, searching for semantics," he declared.

The MP argues that the proposed law would achieve "the advantages of criminalization" without suffering some of its drawbacks, notably the length of legal proceedings or the difficulty of providing evidence. He also mentioned the penalties stipulated in the Penal Code, noting the existence of fines and prison sentences.

The issue of HIV and confidentiality

In his address, the MP also raised the issue of intentional HIV transmission, recalling the existence of a law passed in 2010 on this subject. He emphasized that the principle of confidentiality of medical information cannot be invoked against police officers during an investigation, nor against a judge during the examination of a case. According to him, this confidentiality should be lifted only once a final verdict has been reached.