Ghana Parliament Approves 'Anti-LGBTQ' Law, Awaiting President's Signature
The measure adds prison terms for promotion, support and funding of LGBTQ activities, and critics say it could deepen discrimination.
- On Friday, Ghana passed a bill imposing prison terms of up to 10 years for promoting LGBTQ activities, reviving efforts to criminalize advocacy and support in the West African country.
- Before this bill, Ghana criminalized same-sex sexual relations under Section 104 of the Criminal Offences Act, though an earlier version passed in 2024 but was never signed by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
- The legislation mandates three years of prison for engaging in same-sex acts and five years for operating a brothel, while banning "promoting, sponsoring or advocating" LGBTQ activities.
- President John Dramani Mahama is expected to sign the bill into law, despite Finance Ministry warnings that enactment could jeopardize billions of dollars in international financing.
- While Human Rights Watch condemned the bill for violating constitutional rights, such measures enjoy popular support in many conservative African countries, where more than 30 of the 54 countries in Africa criminalize same-sex acts.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Ghana parliament approves 'anti-LGBTQ' law, awaiting president's signature
Ghana's parliament on Friday approved a law that would make the promotion, sponsorship or intentional support of LGBTQ activities punishable by three to five years in prison. The law is now awaiting ratification by President John Mahama.
In this very Christian-majority conservative country, same-sex relations are prohibited by a law dating from the colonial era, but so far there has been no prosecution for these reasons.
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Parliament has passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2026 after heated debates on the floor of the House on Friday, May 29. The bill, which was initially passed in February 2024, failed to receive presidential assent after legal challenges halted its progress during the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Parliament passes Human Sexual Right and Family Values Bill, 2025
Parliament of Ghana has passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, widely known as the anti-LGBTQ+ bill. The bill was passed after it was read for the third time on the floor of Parliament. The legislation seeks to criminalise activities related to LGBTQ practices in Ghana. However, lawmakers introduced amendments to exempt some professionals from punishment under the law. The exemptions cover legal practitioners, media profess…
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