Faith Nyasuguta
On Wednesday, Ghana’s Parliament unanimously passed a motion that further tightens laws against the LGBTIQ+ community in the country.
The motion proposed by the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee to amend a controversial bill against the LGBTIQ+ community was passed by the 275 members of the unicameral Parliament.
The “Promotion of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill” was introduced in 2021. For it to come into force, it must still pass at least a third reading in the House and be signed into law by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo.
On Thursday, Amnesty International’s (AI) country director in Ghana, Genevieve Partington, rejected the bill, noting that in the West African country, the Penal Code dates back to colonial times.
The director said the draft legislation under discussion goes too far, as it stiffens prison sentences up to 10 years but also validates “conversion therapy”, that is, treatments for a change of sexual orientation.
The bill also criminalizes any form of LGBTIQ+ activism or support, as well as the dissemination of information. It will punish homosexuals with a three-year prison sentence for identifying as such, while LGBTQI+ rights advocates would face up to ten years in prison.
It also limits the provision of health services to this community, such as medication to treat HIV. The proposed law encourages citizens to report neighbors who engage in homosexual relations to the authorities.
The bill’s main sponsor, legislator Sam Nartey George, has warned the U.S. not to interfere with plans to pass the bill into law. If Washington imposes sanctions on its lawmakers, “we will also take action against your business interests in our country,” the lawmaker said.
The official was referring to the U.S. imposition of travel restrictions on Ugandan officials following the signing of an anti-LGBTIQ+ law by President Yoweri Museveni in May. Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act punishes homosexual relations with life imprisonment.
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