Lawmakers reverse same sex law

Less than a year after a new penal code criminalised homosexuality in Gabon, the lower house of Parliament has surprisingly voted to reverse the law that bans same sex relations. Radio France Internationale reports that 48 MPs voted in favour of removing the law, while 24 voted against it and 25 others abstained. While hailed by rights groups as a positive development, the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party has a majority in the Senate so it is not a given that the Bill will pass. Six African countries have scrapped their bans since 2012, marking a positive trend overall, said Neela Ghoshal, a Human Rights Watch researcher.