Support for human rights in the African country could be punished by up to five years in prison
Ghana’s bishops maintain their support for new anti-LGBT+ legislation in Ghana and even defend the practice of forced conversion therapy. According to a report by Robert Shine, published by New Ways Ministry on April 29, 2024, in late February, Ghanaian lawmakers unanimously passed a new law, the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which makes it illegal to even even support for LGBT+ rights, subjecting offenders to sentences of up to five years in prison.
Furthermore, the law penalizes those who do not report LGBT+ rights defenders and increases punishments for sexual activities between people of the same gender, which are already criminalized.
According to Reuters, President Nana Akufo-Addo has not yet signed the law, facing pressure from human rights advocates inside and outside Ghana, as well as the country’s own Ministry of Finance.
Catholic bishops have largely supported this legislation, which was first proposed in 2021, and have urged the president to sign it. On Palm Sunday, Bishop Alfred Agyenta of Navrongo-Bolgatanga encouraged Akufo-Addo to sign the law, arguing that it represents the will of the Ghanaian people.
He compared the president to Pontius Pilate in the Passion narrative, suggesting that succumbing to pressure not to sign the law would be similar to Pilate’s decision to hand over Jesus Christ to be crucified.
Source: Maxima
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