Amnesty International-Ghana, a human rights organization, has vigorously objected to attempts by Members of Parliament to approve the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill.
The Ghanaian Family Values Bill and the Promotion of Proper Sexual Human Rights are still opposed by Amnesty International-Ghana in their current iterations.
According to Amnesty International-Ghana, the Bill continues to incite hatred against those who identify as LGBTQ.
Moreover, Genevieve Partington, the Country Director for Amnesty International-Ghana, said that the Bill still needs to be improved.
“There are so many things I can pull out from the law. I’m an ally, I’m identified as an ally. It also said from the Bill that, if you are an ally of LGBTQ community, that means you are living amongst people who have a different sexual orientation. I don’t see how that affects my life in any way. How does a man sleeping with a man within closed doors in their bedroom affect my life?”
Genevieve Partington
Desires Of Ghanaians Represented Through Bill
However, John Ntim Fordjour, the representative for Assin South, stressed that the Promotion of Proper Sexual Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill reflects Ghanaians’ wishes.
He said that the clergy and Parliament were among the groups that supported the bill.
Mr. Fordjour emphasized the committee level unanimous approval and bipartisan support the bill got, demonstrates that it represents the opinions and beliefs of the Ghanaian people.
“The bill received a bi-partisan unanimous approval at the committee level and there were no dissenting or whatsoever views. Both sides of the aisle at the committee level agreed and we sought the opinion of the Attorney General, who even came to enrich the bill and eventually came back to the Floor of Parliament for a second reading. So, the entire Parliament is carried along and the position of the law that we are legislating is a true reflection of what the good people of Ghana stand for.
“A CDD survey conducted on the bill indicated that a significant 86 percent of people in this country support the bill that we are sponsoring and so it is a win situation for the people of Ghana and the Ghanaian society.”
Ntim Fordjour
He made it clear that the law is not of a religious nature and does not seek to establish morality; rather, it is the outcome of intellectual consultation and is in accordance with the United States Constitution and international human rights treaties.
The Constitutional, Legal, and Parliament Committee’s motion to support the Ghanaian Family Values Bill and proper human sexual rights has been approved by the legislature.
The activities of lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) people were referred to as “madness” by the Minister of Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development, Dan Botwe, who participated in the discussion.
Ahmed Ibrahim, the Deputy Minority chief whip, also praised early opponents of homosexuality by mentioning Apostle Opoku Onyinah, the former Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, and Moses Foh-Amoaning, the Executive Secretary of the National Coalition of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values.
He however, condemned the Ghana Aids Commission for opposing the Bill.
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