Accra: President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he is being circumspect regarding the passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill into law.
Also, any legal challenges against that law before the before the courts must be dealt with before any further action.
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.
In a statement issued on Monday, the President noted: ‘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.’
The Private Members Bill, passed recently, with an overwhe
lming backing of Ghana’s two major political parties – the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and 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.
Likewise, some diplomats from the United States and the United Kingdom have expressed disappointment at the passage of the Bill and its ramifications on
human rights and possible economic progress of the nation.
Proponents and supporters are, however, urging the President to promptly assent to the Bill.
President Akufo-Addo stated 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 will determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in the country.
Parliament on Wednesday, February 28, passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2021, also known as LGBTQ+.
The object of the Bill is to provide for proper human sexual rig
hts and Ghanaian Family Values, which proscribe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) and related activities, and criminalises their promotion, advocacy and funding.
Source: Ghana News Agency