Controversial anti-LGBTQ bill presented to Parliament for second reading

Parliament is to resume consideration of Ghana’s controversial anti-LGBTQ bill, reviving a legislative process that has spanned nearly five years and triggered intense national and international debate.

The bill, formally titled the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, was presented again for second reading in the House on Thursday, marking the latest stage in its long and contentious journey through Parliament.

Originally introduced in June 2021 by a bipartisan group of Members of Parliament led by Ningo-Prampram MP Sam George, the proposed legislation seeks to criminalise same-sex sexual relations, LGBTQ advocacy, funding and related activities.

The bill underwent its first reading in August 2021 and was subsequently referred to Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee for scrutiny.

Between 2021 and 2022, the committee held extensive public hearings involving religious bodies, traditional authorities, legal experts, civil society organisations and human rights groups.

The hearings sparked widespread public debate, with supporters arguing that the bill was necessary to protect Ghanaian cultural and family values, while opponents described it as unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Parliament approved the bill at the second reading stage in July 2023 before proceeding to a clause-by-clause consideration of its provisions.

On February 28, 2024, Parliament passed the bill following its third reading, drawing reactions from local advocacy groups, foreign governments and international organisations. Some provisions initially criticised by rights groups were amended or removed before the final passage.

However, the legislation did not receive presidential assent before the end of the Eighth Parliament. Then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo withheld assent while constitutional challenges filed at the Supreme Court were pending.

The bill subsequently lapsed upon the dissolution of Parliament ahead of the 2024 general election.

In the Ninth Parliament, sponsors of the bill reintroduced it as a private member’s bill. Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin later ruled that the proposed legislation satisfied constitutional and procedural requirements for reintroduction.

The bill was formally laid again earlier this year and referred to the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee before being returned to the House for renewed second reading consideration.

Its return to Parliament is expected to reignite debate across the country, with religious and conservative groups pushing for its passage, while human rights advocates and some civil society organisations continue to oppose it on constitutional and human rights grounds.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)