A day after Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, the board chair of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), urged President Akufo-Addo to reject the bill, Parliament passed it.
Prof. Gadzekpo claims that the legislation infringes upon fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution, including gender equality, nondiscrimination, participation in processions, freedom of expression and association, and academic freedom.
Prof. Gadzekpo stressed that protecting rights and freedoms is vital for constitutional democracy during a press conference on human rights and a rights-based strategy for assisting sexual minorities in Ghana.
She emphasized the importance of the issue for all Ghanaians and warned that changing these rights might jeopardize the country’s democratic values.
In response to concerns about media freedom, CDD stated that the measure will restrict the freedom of expression of journalists and social media users by penalizing them for covering LGBTQI+ issues. In addition, they denounced the law for going against Article 108 of the 1992 Constitution, which forbids private member’s bills that put money into the public coffers.
The Human Rights Coalition and the “Big 18” pushed Parliament to reject the anti-LGBTQI Bill, citing the significance of protecting the rights of all people. They cautioned that if the bill were to succeed, it would violate both national and international human rights laws and jeopardize the media’s standing in society.
The bill prohibits LGBT activism, funding, and promotion and makes them illegal.
Promoters and financiers of the act face sentences ranging from three to five years in prison, while those caught in the act might face a six-month to three-year imprisonment sentence.
