Ghana parliament passes anti-LGBTQ+ bill

The parliament successful Ghana has approved a caller measure criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.

Identifying arsenic lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender oregon queer tin beryllium punished by up to 3 years' imprisonment. The measure besides introduces a "duty to report" prohibited acts to police.

Religious leaders person pressured President John Dramani Mahama, who inactive needs to ratify the legislation, to fortify anti-gay laws since helium came to powerfulness past year.

The prohibition has been sharply criticised by planetary organisations, including Human Rights Watch, which said it placed LGBTQ+ peoples' lives astatine hazard portion besides "encouraging citizens to surveil and denounce 1 another".

Same-sex relationships person been banned successful Ghana nether laws dating from the British assemblage era.

In an code to Parliament, the bill's sponsor Reverend John Ntim Fordjour said the measure protected Ghanaian household and taste values.

He said the caller bans would marque existing laws "more robust, much encompassing, and much stringent successful dealing with the practices of LGBTQI".

Anyone who identifies arsenic an "ally", a wide word for a protagonist of LGBTQ+ people, could besides look a situation sentence.

Exemptions were included for legal, media and healthcare professionals who study connected LGBTQ+ issues oregon supply aesculapian attraction oregon different services for cheery people.

Human Rights Watch recommended the measure beryllium abandoned, successful a ceremonial a submission to the law and ineligible affairs committee scrutinising the authorities successful the superior Accra.

Ghana passed a akin measure successful 2024 but it did not go instrumentality aft erstwhile president Akufo-Addo failed to motion it amid ineligible challenges.

President Mahama has indicated helium would enactment the bill's passage, saying soon aft helium took bureau that "I judge successful the principles and values that lone 2 genders beryllium – antheral and woman. And that matrimony is betwixt a antheral and a woman."

Several African countries person cracked down connected LGBTQ+ rights successful caller years.

Senegal's parliament approved akin authorities successful March which prescribes a maximum situation word of 10 years for intersexual acts by same-sex couples and criminalising the ''promotion'' of homosexuality.

Uganda introduced a decease punishment for definite same-sex acts successful 2023.