Stop political scapegoating: Ghanaian MPs must reject dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ bill

Access Now and Rightify Ghana are urging the government of Ghana to put human rights first and reject the repressive Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, in a joint memo to the Parliament of Ghana.

Access Now and Rightify Ghana have found that the entirety of the law contradicts fundamental human rights principles. The bill will specifically violate digital rights such as the right to privacy and freedom of expression online, in violation of Ghana’s Constitution by forcing social media companies to censor LGBTQ+ content and forcing members of the public to report suspected LGBTQ+ people, allies, and organizations to the police as well as religious and customary leaders.

The moral and religious beliefs of political leaders cannot be weaponized as a basis to restrict the human rights of LGBTQ+ people in Ghana. This law will not only violate LGBTQ+ people’s right to freedom of expression, and access to information, it will also prevent human rights defenders from engaging in advocacy work, resulting in acts of discrimination and violence perpetuated against LGBTQ+ people to go undocumented, unacknowledged, and unaddressed. Jaimee Kokonya, Africa Campaigner at Access Now

If the law is passed, activists that advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, online and offline, could face up to 10 years in prison. Advocacy that fights against the stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people and provides access to life saving and harm reduction information will be stifled, while harmful disinformation against the LGBTQ+ community will be allowed to proliferate unchallenged. On social media platforms, content that promotes conversion practices and incitement against LGBTQ+ people is already flourishing in Ghana. Rightify Ghana has also reported an increase in cases of entrapment, blackmail and hate crimes perpetrated by bad-faith actors targeting LGBTQ+ people on dating apps, messaging platforms, and social media platforms. If the bill is enacted these cases of persecution will only worsen. 

Laws that criminalize consensual same-sex acts inherently violate the right to privacy. This law will not only expose LGBTQ+ people’s private intimacy to state authorities, it will also require members of the public to report suspected LGBTQ+ people to non-state actors such as religious and customary leaders, which could put them at risk of threats such as doxxing, which can lead to extrajudicial violence. This dangerous bill must be rejected — human rights must prevail. Ebenezer Peegah, Executive Director at Rightify Ghana

Stifling the freedom of LGBTQ+ people and organizations in Ghana not only violates human rights, it also hinders the public’s ability to keep the government of Ghana accountable to its human rights obligations. Members of parliament in Ghana must affirm their commitment to protect human rights and reject the dangerous Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025.

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