International Human Rights advocacy organization Amnesty International has condemned Ghana’s anti-gay bill, stating that it not only violates the human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and Ghana’s Constitution but that Members of Parliament (MPs) who recently approved amendments to the bill are not truthful about the draconian contents of it.
The bill, Proper Human Sexual and Family Values Bill, imposes exemplary sanctions on not only the LGBTQIA+ community but anyone who dares support their right to be and manifest their sexual orientation.
Country Director of Amnesty International Ghana Genevieve Partington, in an interview with the press, after Parliament unanimously adopted amendments to the bill, urged Ghanaians to apprise themselves of the full contents of the bill and support Amnesty International’s position that it be thrown out.
“So far as they[ the LGBTQI+ community] are not hurting anyone, it is against our Constitution to criminalise them. So I plead on the public to, please, get a copy of the amendments – because it’s available – and read carefully the details. The Parliamentarians will tell you otherwise that the bill in its current state is good; they reviewed it. But it’s not good. So for Amnesty International, the way forward is the bill should be thrown out completely. It shouldn’t even exist,” she said.
Ghanaians welcomed the decision of Parliament to adopt the amendments, calling on it to waste no time in passing it into law. But some notable academics and influential Ghanaians have kicked against the bill and the attempt to criminalise a minority group such as the LGBTQIA+ community.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
