The Parliament of Ghana has passed the Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill into law.
The bill aimed at promoting human sexual rights and family values. The legislation prohibits lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activities and criminalizes their promotion, advocacy, and funding in the country.
Under the new law, individuals engaged in such activities could face imprisonment ranging from six months to three years, while promoters and sponsors of such acts could be sentenced to three to five years in jail.
“We want to thank Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu who was very instrumental in passing this bill,” one of the sponsors of the bill, Ningo Prampram Lawmaker Samuel Nartey George told journalists in Parliament after the passage.
“The house has stood united, the overwhelming majority of both sides of the house have supported this bill,” he added.
Prior to the passage, a human rights coalition, comprising of CDD Ghana, “the big 18” and others had called on President Akufo-Addo not to assent to the bill in its current state.
The passage of the Bill by 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 emphasized that upholding rights and freedoms is crucial to constitutional democracy.
The Ningo Prampram Lawmaker Samuel Nartey George on a facebook page says
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