The Parliament of Ghana has passed the bill on Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values known as the anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) bill.
The passage of the Bill by Ghana’s Parliament comes a day after the Board Chair of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, called on President Akufo-Addo to reject the Bill.
Prof. Gadzekpo argued that the bill undermines fundamental human rights protected by the Constitution, including the rights to dignity, freedom of speech and association, procession participation, academic freedom, equality, and non-discrimination.
Speaking at a press conference focused on human rights and a rights-based approach to supporting sexual minorities in Ghana, Prof. Gadzekpo emphasised that upholding rights and freedoms is crucial to constitutional democracy.
She warned that altering these rights could jeopardise Ghana’s democratic principles, highlighting the significance of the issue for all citizens.
But Prof. Gadzekpo’s comments and those of many other people who want to see this all important Bill become a stillborn didn’t have their way, as the gallant Members of Parliament (MPs) have gone ahead to pass the bill into an Act of Parliament.
The bill, as passed into law, proscribes LGBTQ activities and criminalises its promotion, advocacy and funding.
Persons caught in the act would be subjected to a six (6) months to three (3) year jail term, with promoters and sponsors of the act bearing a three (3) to five (5 )year jail term.
The Bill will now require presidential assent to come into force. President Nana Akufo-Addo has not confirmed if he will sign the bill into law.
Ahead of the passage, sponsors of the Bill filed a motion for a further consideration stage of the bill.
The lead sponsor, Samuel Nartey George, proposed that clauses 10 and 11 of the anti-LGBTQ Act, which deal with the editorial policies of media firms, be subjected to Article 12 of the 1992 constitution which provides for the freedom of the media. The amendments were approved by the House as part of the bill.
The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, also filed a motion for clause 12 of the bill, which deals with the funding of LGBTQ activities to be subjected to the constitution, but that was negated by the House.
Ghana is not the first country to pass a law that prohibits LGBTQ activities. With the passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill, Ghana joins countries like Uganda to pass such bill.
For instance, in May 2023, Uganda signed one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBT laws, including a death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”
However, activists for LGBTQ said Uganda’s law unleashed a wave of abuse and the World Bank suspended new funding to the country.
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Meanwhile, Audrey Gadzekpo, the Board Chair of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has expressed her disappointment regarding the parliamentary approval of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021 popularly known as the anti-gay bill.
In an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Wednesday, Prof Gadzekpo emphasized that the bill infringes upon fundamental human rights safeguarded by the Constitution.
These rights include dignity, freedom of speech and association, procession participation, academic freedom, equality, and non-discrimination.
She further asserted that the preservation of rights and freedoms was vital to constitutional democracy for which reason the bill was unwholesome. “That is why we are saying that today is a sad day for democracy,” she added.
Audrey Gadzekpo also insisted that the anti-gay bill was passed for political reasons. “I am telling you that they have passed it not for any reason but for political reasons. Mr Sam George the Chief proponent of the bill in 2015 when his candidate John Mahama was being accused of having a friend who was a homosexual sponsoring him etc etc. Sam George is on record saying that the constitution protects those rights.
“So I have to wonder why he changed his mind…What has changed? 10 years ago did he have a different morality from today, from 2021 when he proposed the bill.”
“That is why I am saying there is politics. They are walking over the bodies of vulnerable people,” she stated.
