Ghana’s parliament passes anti-LGBTQ bill
Al Jazeera
Rights activists condemn bill that would punish the promotion of rights for gay and lesbian people with years in prison.
Ghana’s parliament has voted to pass a controversial bill to severely restrict LGBTQ rights, in a move that has been condemned by rights activists.
A coalition of religious and traditional leaders sponsored the legislation that is favoured by most lawmakers and that passed in parliament on Wednesday.
The bill would punish those who take part in LGBTQ sexual acts, as well as those who promote the rights of gay, lesbian or other non-conventional sexual or gender identities with time in prison.
The bill, one of the harshest of its kind in Africa, still has to be validated by the president before entering into law, which observers believe is unlikely before a general election in December.
Activist groups have called the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values” bill a setback for human rights and urged President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government to reject it.
