Ghana’s parliament is close to voting on a bill that aims to further restrict the rights of LGBT people, rejecting a proposal that would have replaced jail terms for gay sex with non-custodial sentences like counseling.
The legislation, sponsored by Christian, Muslim, and Ghanaian traditional leaders, would punish the promotion of the rights of lesbians, gays, or other non-conventional sexual or gender identities with up to 10 years in prison.
The bill, one of the harshest of its kind in Africa, would require presidential assent to come into force. President Nana Akufo-Addo has not confirmed if he will sign the bill into law.
Promoters are seeking to have the bill passed by March. The discussion of the proposed bill has raised concerns in an LGBT community already facing abuse and hostility.
The United Nations stated in 2021 that the proposed law would create a system of state-sponsored discrimination and violence against sexual minorities. In May 2023, Uganda signed one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBT laws, including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which activists said unleashed a wave of abuse and suspended new funding to the country.
(Reuters)
