Key Points
- Ghana's parliament this week passed the controversial Human Sexual Rights and Family Values bill.
- The bill threatens to strengthen anti-LGBTIQ+ laws and has been condemned by human rights groups as "draconian".
- Ghana is one of more than 60 countries that still criminalises consensual same-sex sexual relations.
Ghana's parliament passed a controversial anti-LGBTIQ+ law which could see anyone who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer mandatorily jailed for three years.
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values bill – commonly referred to as the "anti-gay" bill – further threatens to jail anyone funding an LGBTIQ+ organisation for up to five years, while anyone engaging in LGBTIQ+ "advocacy" involving children could face up to a decade behind bars.
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo is yet to sign the bill, and is now facing pressure from both domestic and international human rights groups to refrain from doing so.
Which other countries have harsh anti-LGBTIQ+ laws?
The bill represents the latest in a string of discriminatory laws directed against LGBTIQ+ people across Africa since the start of 2023.
An Amnesty International report published last month highlighted the various ways in which different countries' legal systems were being used to further target, persecute and marginalise members of the LGBTIQ+ community.
Of more than 30 African nations that criminalise consensual same-sex sexual activity, Ghana's laws are now some of the harshest.
But it is also just one of 65 countries globally that continue to criminalise homosexuality in their legal codes, according to the Human Dignity Trust.
Almost half of these are Commonwealth jurisdictions, and 12 punish homosexuality with laws that include the possible penalty of death.
Laws in Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Uganda and Yemen, as well as some parts of Nigeria, stipulate that anyone found engaging in consensual same-sex sexual acts will face the threat of the death penalty.
In 2019, Brunei drew global condemnation when it introduced a "death by stoning" law for proven acts of consensual intimacy between men – although there is little evidence of such a law being enforced.
Yemen has similar legislation, though also with little evidence of enforcement, while Saudi Arabia observes an interpretation of Sharia Law that allows intimacy between men to be punished with death, flogging or, in the eyes of many imams, stoning, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).
Broad scope
Setting Ghana's newly passed legislation apart from those of many other jurisdictions is its broad scope: targeting those who merely "identify" as LGBTIQ+ and those deemed to be advocating for them in ways that involve children - which, as some advocates have pointed out, could be applied to sex education in schools.
Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the US Department of State, noted, "The bill seeks to criminalise any person who simply identifies as LGBTQI+, as well as any friend, family, or member of the community who does not report them."
"Limiting the rights of one group in a society undermines the rights of all. The United States echoes the call by those Ghanaians who have urged a review of the constitutionality of the bill to protect the rights of all individuals in Ghana."
Others, meanwhile, have denounced the bill as a barrier to combatting AIDS. Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, noted that "Approaches rooted in inclusion of all people have been crucial to Ghana's progress in the HIV response."
"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," Byanyima said in a statement.
"If it becomes law, it will obstruct access to life-saving services, undercut social protection, and jeopardise Ghana's development success. Evidence shows that punitive laws like this Bill are a barrier to ending AIDS, and ultimately undermine everyone's health."
Other parts of the world have taken recent, positive steps towards decriminalising the behaviours of LGBTIQ+ people.
In February 2023, the Kenyan Supreme Court ruled that the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) must be allowed to officially register as an NGO, noting that “it would be unconstitutional to limit the right to associate, through denial of registration of an association, purely on the basis of the sexual orientation of the applicants".
In October, Mauritius' Supreme Court declared that a law dating back to 1838 which criminalised same-sex intimacy between men was unconstitutional.
In the latter case, the Supreme Court judges said that “there must exist particularly serious reasons for the State to justifiably interfere with the manner in which homosexual men choose to have consensual sexual intercourse in private”.
Condemnation for a 'draconian' bill
Genevieve Partington, Amnesty International's Ghana Executive Director, described the parliament's passage of the bill as “shocking and deeply disappointing".
"The bill is one of the most draconian in Africa and seeks to further criminalise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," Partington said in a statement.
"It also seeks to punish anyone who supports or advocates for LGBT people, including human rights defenders, medical professionals, journalists, teachers and landlords in violation of the right to freedom of expression and association."
Since the bill was passed, LGBTIQ+ people in Ghana have already reported forced evictions, loss of jobs, increased violence and other violations of constitutionally enshrined rights, Partington noted.
"Amnesty International urges President Nana Akufo Addo to respect the human rights of all persons and not to sign this extreme form of discrimination into law, affecting everyone in the country," she said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the bill's passage as profoundly disturbing.
"The bill broadens the scope of criminal sanctions against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people – simply for being who they are – and threatens criminal penalties against perceived allies of LGBTQ+ people," Türk said, calling for the bill to not become law.
"I urge the Ghanaian Government to take steps to ensure everyone can live free from violence, stigma and discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity."
"Consensual same-sex conduct should never be criminalised."
