President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he is being circumspect in the passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill into law.
He promised that the country’s longstanding human rights record and State institutions dealing with the rule of law would be safeguarded in pursuit of such an action.
“I am aware that last week’s bi-partisan passage by Parliament of the Bill, on a Private Member’s motion, has raised considerable anxieties in certain quarters of the diplomatic community and amongst some friends of Ghana that she may be turning her back on her, hitherto, enviable, longstanding record on human rights observance and attachment to the rule of law.
“I want to assure you that no such backsliding will be contemplated or occasioned,” he noted, in a statement issued on Monday, March 04, 2024.
The Bill, passed recently, with an overwhelming backing of Ghana’s two major political parties – the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) as well as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) – is yet to receive a Presidential assent.
It proposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+, and imposing a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups.
Generally, it seeks to punish those who take part in LGBTQ sexual acts, as well as those who wilfully promote, sponsor, or support LGBTQ+ activities.
Commonly referred to as the anti-gay bill, it received sponsorship from a coalition, comprising Christian, Muslim and Ghanaian traditional leaders.
The Amnesty International has warned that the Bill poses significant threats to the fundamental rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people, urging the President to tread cautiously in the passage of the Bill into law.
President Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that, “it will serve little purpose to go, at this stage, into the details of the origin of this proposed law, which is yet to reach my desk.
“But, suffice it to say, that I have learned that, today, a challenge has been mounted at the Supreme Court by a concerned citizen to the constitutionality of the proposed legislation.
“In the circumstances, it would be, as well, for all of us to hold our hands, and await the decision of the Court before any action is taken,” he noted.
He stated that the operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian State would determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in the country.
GNA
KK
March 05, 2024
