Professor Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, Dr. Rose Kutin-Mensah, Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, Professor Kwame KariKari, Akoto Ampaw and Professor Raymond Atuguba are among the people who signed the memorandum to kick against the bill which is already in parliament awaiting debate and passage.
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15 lawyers, academic & civil society professionals team up against LGBTQ+ bill
A solid team of fifteen renowned legal, academic and civil society professionals has kicked against the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021, to ensure it doesn’t see the light of day.
15 lawyers, academicians & civil society team up against LGBTQ+ bill
“The proposers of this far-reaching claim have not provided any data or evidence to suggest that there is such a threat, beyond a resort to some dogmatic religious tenets and so-called Ghanaian family values,” they argue to counter the views of the proponents of the Bill.
They went further to state that per Article 18 of the constitution, Ghana is “not a theocratic Christian or Islamic Republic or an African traditional monarchy or chiefdom.”
“In other words, while it allows Christian, Islamic, African traditional and other religious beliefs and practices to exist in harmony with one another as fundamental rights, our Constitution rightfully forbids the imposition of a religious dogma, whether Christian or Islamic or traditional on Ghanaians,” part of the memorandum to Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs read as quoted by Citinewsroom.com.
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The team strengthened its argument with a Supreme Court judgement in the case of NPP v. IGP in November 1992.
The apex court ruled that the Public Order Decree 1972 gives guarantees the right to assemble and demonstrate either in favour or against a cause.
“In countries that practice true democracy, supporters and opponents of every conceivable cause are given the freedom to associate and express their views,” the judge declared in that case.
In short, they are asking the committee to reject the Bill, saying passing it would amount to creating a “society where the state through legislation imposes one view of ‘proper human sexual rights’.”
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The controversial Bill was submitted to the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin who then referred it to the appropriate committee for consideration.
It seeks to criminalise homosexual activities and proposed up to 10 years jail term among other sanctions to be meted out to violators of the law is passed.
The Bill masterminded by some Members of Parliament and Civil Society Organisations has split heads as various human rights groups, including United Nations human rights experts have raised objections.
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