Tag Archives: Anti-gay bill

Regional

Ghana’s president calls for tolerance over anti-LGBTQ+ bill debate

Maravi Post Reporter

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Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has said that he expects tolerance from citizens as the country’s parliament prepares to debate an anti-LGBTQ+ bill.

The bill which is being sponsored by some Members of Parliament has support of religious bodies and seeks to criminalize all same sex related activities including activism.

Various human rights activists have expressed their displeasure at Ghana’s lawmakers to pass such a law.

Debates over the bill have been intense and heated but President Akufo-Addo called for civil debate and tolerance.

“What I would hope for is that the debate itself be civil, that we will recognise the need for us to be tolerant of each other even when there are opposing views,” Akufo-Addo said in an interview with Accra based radio station Peace FM.

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“I think it will be a credit to Ghanaian democracy if this matter is handled in the correct manner,” the president added.

President Akufo-Addo has already said same-sex marriage would never be legalised under his presidency.

This month some Ghanaian lawmakers were reported to have been livid about their alleged visa denial by some embassies in the country over the anti-LGBTQI bill.

The country’s Minority lawmakers confirmed that the move to pass the bill into law has not gone down well with some members of the Western diplomatic community, leading to visa denial of some MPs.

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The minority MPs warned the diplomatic community that no amount of intimidation and threats will stop them from passing the anti-LGBTQ bill pending before the house.

The issue of homosexuality is very controversial in most African countries, where there is very little support for such rights.

Ghana’s MPs threaten to retaliate visa denial over anti-LGBTQ+ bill

Source: Africafeeds.com

Source: Africa Feeds

Human Rights, Regional

UN Human Rights Council criticizes Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ bill

Maravi Post Reporter

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The United Nations Human Rights council has criticized Ghana’s attempt to introduce tougher laws against LGBTQ+ persons and their activities in the country.

Ghana’s lawmakers have laid in parliament a new draft bill titled “The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021″.

It is being sponsored by some individual lawmakers who are anti-LGBTQ+ activists.

According to details of the bill, anyone of the same sex that engages in sexual intercourse are “liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than seven hundred and fifty penalty units and not more than five thousand penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than five years or both.”

This punishment also covers any person who “holds out as a lesbian, a gay, a transgender, a transsexual, a queer, a pansexual, an ally, a non-binary or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female.”

Punishing promoters of LGBTQ+ activities

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The bill also seeks to punish those it deems promoters and allies of the LGBT+ community with a jail term.

There is also punishment for persons who engage in activities that “promotes, supports sympathy for or a change of public opinion towards an act prohibited under the Bill.”

Such offenders are liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years or not more than ten years.

A panel of UN experts said in a statement that “Passing this law in its current or even partial form would violate a significant number of human rights, including the absolute prohibition of torture.”

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They also indicated that the new bill “will not only criminalize LGBTI (I for intersex) people but also all those who support or show sympathy for human rights.”

Various human rights activists have already expressed their displeasure at this attempt by Ghana’s lawmakers to pass the law.

Bill enjoys support of Ghanaians

The bill seems to have strong support among Ghanaians.

Nana Yaa Agyepong, a member of Silent Majority Ghana, a transnational queer feminist group told DW “This is something that we cannot have because we have Ghanaians that deserve to live safely and at peace at home and not forced into exile.”

She is also worried that the bill “squashes conversations and dissents around the bill so people would not be able to do public education or media appearances or even on social media.”

But one of the eight members of parliament who proposed the bill, Sam George, told DW that “We are just bringing our laws up to speed to ensure that so long as our national position has not changed and still homosexuality is an illegality, let’s make the laws reflective of that.”

“Our constitution says rights can be curtailed so long as they pose existential threat to the public safety, public health and public moral,” he said adding that “This act of homosexuality poses a public health challenge and a public moral challenge.”

Ghana’s current criminal code only outlaws what it describes as “unnatural” carnal knowledge. The law is however silent on explicitly mentioning LGBT people and those who promote their activities.

If the bill is eventually passed into law only Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo, who has vowed not to legalize same-sex marriages will have the final say either to sign it or veto it.

Ghana: Court dismisses case against 21 LGBTQ+ rights activists

Source: Africafeeds.com

Source: Africa Feeds