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GHANA PASSES BILL MAKING IDENTIFYING AS LGBTQ+ ILLEGAL

29 February 2024
By Thomas Naadi,BBC News, Accra
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AFP

Ghana's parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of
up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+.

It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+
groups.

Lawmakers heckled down attempts to replace prison sentences with community
service and counselling.

It is the latest sign of growing opposition to LGBTQ+ rights in the conservative
West African nation.

The bill, which had the backing of Ghana's two major political parties, will
come into effect only if President Nana Akufo-Addo signs it into law.



He previously said that he would do so if the majority of Ghanaians want him to.

Gay sex is already against the law in Ghana - it carries a three-year prison
sentence.

Last month Amnesty International warned that the bill "poses significant threats
to the fundamental rights and freedoms" of LGBTQ+ people.

Activists fear there will now be witch-hunts against members of the LGBTQ+
community and those who campaign for their rights, and say some will have to go
into hiding.

This was echoed by the head of the UN body tackling Aids, Winnie Byanyima, who
said: "If Human Sexual rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill becomes a law, it
will exacerbate fear and hatred, could incite violence against fellow Ghanaian
citizens, and will negatively impact on free speech, freedom of movement and
freedom of association."



She added that it would "obstruct access to life-saving services" and
"jeopardise Ghana's development success".

The bill proposes a jail term of up to 10 years for anyone involved in LGBTQ+
advocacy campaigns aimed at children

It also encourages the public to report members of the LGBTQ+ community to
authorities for "necessary action".

MPs said the bill was drafted in response to the opening of Ghana's first LGBTQ+
community centre in the capital, Accra, in January 2021.

Police shut the centre following public protests, and pressure from religious
bodies and traditional leaders in the largely Christian nation.



At the time, the Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Pentecostal and
Charismatic Council said in a joint statement that being LGBTQ+ was "alien to
the Ghanaian culture and family value system and, as such, the citizens of this
nation cannot accept it".

The bill approved by lawmakers is a watered-down version of an earlier draft -
for instance, jail terms have been shortened and a controversial clause on
conversion therapy has been removed.

During the days-long debate, the deputy parliamentary leader of the governing
party, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, suggested further changes.

He said lawmakers should decide, via a secret ballot, whether people convicted
of being members of the LGBTQ+ community should be imprisoned by the courts or
ordered to do community service and undergo counselling.

However, he was heckled into submission by lawmakers who supported prison
sentences.




YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:

 * Why Ghana’s LGBT community is ‘under attack’
 * Time to understand homosexuality - Ghana cardinal
 * Why are different African countries passing anti-LGBT laws?

LGBT rights in Africa
Ghana
LGBT

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