Queer Lives at Risk as Ghana’s Parliament Approves Anti-LGBTQ Bill
Outright International condemns the passing of the «Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021» in Ghana. This bill aims to criminalize the existence of LGBTQ individuals and their allies. The parliament's approval on 28 February 2024 will severely impact the lives and freedoms of LGBTQ individuals in Ghana.
This oppressive bill disregards Ghana’s regional and international human rights commitments. It contravenes the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Resolution 275, which seeks to safeguard individuals from violence and discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender identity and to guarantee their equal protection under the law. Article 2 of the African Charter prohibits discrimination «of any kind», including based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also breaches numerous treaties that Ghana has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which safeguards the rights to privacy and non-discrimination.
«Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ bill tramples human rights, undermines family values of acceptance and unity, and risks derailing economic development and eroding democratic gains. Banning the very existence of queer people and their allies is unprecedented. The hostility this bill displays toward LGBTQ Ghanaians will put lives and livelihoods at risk», said Neela Ghoshal, Senior Director of Law, Policy, and Research at Outright International.
Outright International‘s research has revealed concerning discoveries about the potential risks faced by LGBTQ individuals in Ghana if the proposed anti-LGBTQ Bill is passed. The research suggests that enacting the anti-LGBTQ Bill would result in a rise in violence and human rights abuses against LGBTQ people in Ghana. These risks consist of a higher likelihood of mob assaults, physical and sexual violence, unjustified arrests, extortion, online bullying, forced displacements, homelessness, and workplace bias. We urge President Nana Akufo-Addo not to approve this legislation.
As criticised by three prominent Ghanaian lawyers in the African Human Rights Law Journal, the foundational arguments made by the supporters of the bill, such as LGBTQ individuals being a public health risk, are factually incorrect and misrepresent human rights in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The bill aims to dismantle current LGBTQ civil society organisations, make the actions of advocates for sexual minority rights illegal, and require everyone to report individuals thought to be LGBTQ or engaged in homosexual activities to the authorities or local leaders.
Outright International supports LGBTQ individuals and allies in Ghana and urges the Ghanaian government to uphold human rights obligations. The bill undermines Ghana’s democratic progress and threatens the respect for human rights and constitutionalism achieved in the past two decades.
Ghana’s president must oppose this bill and focus on protecting the rights and dignity of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We urge all human rights advocates in Ghana to unite in denouncing this harmful and backward bill.