Homosexuality / same-sex marriage

The 2023 US Department of State Country Report on Humans Rights Practices in Chad stated that significant human rights issues in Chad included credible reports of crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting LGBTQ+ persons. Widespread social discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons persists resulting in most choosing to live closeted for personal safety and fuller social and political rights. Those choosing to live openly, at great personal risk, were often denied the opportunity to register to vote by local authorities, which observers noted appeared to contravene the constitution, which states that the right to vote is universal. They also faced further difficulty in obtaining housing, employment, and access to government services, facing steep cultural, social, and legal barriers to equal treatment and public acceptance. 

In the US Department for State’s 2023 Human Rights Report for Chad, it was reported that LGBTQI+ persons reported police harassment, arbitrary detention, threats, and solicitation of bribery when engaging with authorities. Government authorities refused to investigate or prosecute crimes committed against LGBTQI+ persons, citing the legal prohibition on same-sex conduct as a pretext for not protecting persons based on perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. Local persons have also reported that several dozen individuals have been imprisoned based on being LGBTQI+ persons, but on the pretext of other charges.

A negative attitude towards homosexuality / same-sex marriage appears prevalent amongst Chadian state officials. In 2016, in support of the new law on homosexuality, the former Prime Minister stated that “homosexuality is condemned by all religions”. In September 2022, the Chadian Minister of Women, Family and Child Protection stated that there was “no question” of maintaining or establishing homosexuality in Chad. In March 2021, the governor of Ouaddaï stated that homosexuals should “leave the city” and that they should not be in the province of Ouaddaï. In November 2020, the Chadian President described same-sex marriage as a “negative value”. 

There has also been enforcement of the Penal Code since criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct. In September 2019, 22 men were arrested in the city of Moussoro for engaging in same-sex conduct. 

Despite same-sex sexual activity not formally being criminalised until the passage of the 2017 Penal Code, two men (one of whom wore a dress and make-up) were arrested in Abéché in 2013 and charged with “indecent exposure” for celebrating their wedding in a bar. They received a two-year suspended sentence and a fine (their initial sentence was two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 CFA francs (~85 USD). This prompted religious groups, youth associations and women’s groups to petition the government to punish the couple for what they described as a “vile and anti-religious act”. 

Transgender rights

In July 2020 an individual reported to be “a man dressed as a woman” was arrested, claiming that they had been trapped by a third party and forced to wear traditionally female attire. This case highlights the conflation of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

A spokesperson for the National Gendarmerie stated that “A homosexual is difficult to spot, but we look at their behaviour and their manner of dress. Then, the courts will determine”. The Deputy Prosecutor also stated that “homosexuality is becoming an increasingly rampant phenomenon in our society” and instructed the investigation units of the Gendarmerie to proceed to hearings without delay.

Amnesty International’s The State of the World’s Human Rights Report published in April 2024 reported that journalists were forced into exile and allegedly subjected to violence and threats of violence. Furthermore, demonstrations organised by opposition parties were amongst those banned, however these did not specifically relate to or concern LGBTQ+ rights and issues. 

Mr M.A. v France, French National Court on Asylum, Application No. 21067657, 29 June 2022

Mr. M.A., a Chadian national born on January 15, 1994, appealed against the decision of the Director General of the French Office for the Protection of Persons which rejected his application for asylum. He claimed that he feared persecution by his relatives and the authorities in Chad due to his sexual orientation. The National Court of Asylum considered his appeal, and the evidence presented, including his personal account and relevant reports on the situation in Chad.

Supporting Evidence

1. Legal Framework and Reports:

• The Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol signed in New York on 31 January 1967 were considered, which define a refugee as someone who fears persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.
• Reports from the U.S. Department of State for 2020 and 2021 indicated that homosexuals in Chad face legal proceedings under Article 354 of the Chadian Penal Code, which criminalizes same-sex relations with penalties including imprisonment and fines.
• The Freedom House report of March 2022 highlighted intense social discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals in Chad, leading to marginalization.
• Statements from the late President Idriss Déby Itno in 2020 and a memorandum from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in 2014 further confirmed the societal and legal challenges faced by sexual minorities in Chad.

1. Personal Account and Evidence:

• Mr. M.A. provided a detailed account of his relationships and the violence he faced due to his sexual orientation. He described an incident in 2019 where he and his partner were violently beaten after being discovered by a family member.
• Medical certificates issued in France in 2021 and 2022 documented scars and psychological after-effects from the violence he suffered.
• His account was corroborated by a certificate from the LGBTQI+ center of Vendée and testimony from his partner in France.

The court concluded that Mr. M.A. belonged to a social group of homosexual persons in Chad and would face persecution if returned to his country. Consequently, he was granted refugee status.

Yaide v Wolf et al. (2018) WL 6896148 (United States District Court, N.D. California)

This case relates to Abderaman Oumar Yaide, a native and citizen of Chad, who had resided in the United States without legal status since 2009. His application for asylum based on ethnicity and imputed political opinion was denied by an immigration judge in 2014. After that initial asylum application, Yaide came out as gay and Chad criminalized all same-sex relations in 2017. Given those developments, Yaide feared torture and death if he returned to Chad. He therefore filed a motion to reopen his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. But before that motion could be adjudicated, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported Yaide to Chad.

Yaide sought a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) directing the Government to return him to the United States. The Government did not argue that a TRO was unwarranted on the merits. Instead, it insisted that the Court lacked jurisdiction over Yaide’s habeas petition. However, because Yaide was in ICE custody when his petition was filed and he challenged his removal on constitutional grounds, the Government’s jurisdictional arguments failed, and the Court granted his request for a TRO, including ordering the Government to buy Yaide’s airline ticket and facilitate his immigration and customs processing to return to the United States.