African Human Rights Coalition Stands with Ghana's LGBTQI+ Community

AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION (AHRC) STATEMENT, May 29, 2026: Condemning Ghana Parliament’s Passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025

The African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC) unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms condemns the passage by the Parliament of Ghana of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025.

This legislation represents one of the most sweeping and dangerous assaults on human rights enacted by a democratic legislature in Africa in recent years. If signed into law by President John Dramani Mahama, it will not merely criminalize LGBTQI+ people, it will criminalize compassion, silence advocacy, encourage surveillance, legitimize discrimination, and place countless lives at risk.

For decades, Ghana has enjoyed a reputation as one of Africa’s most stable democracies, a country admired for its constitutional governance, independent institutions, peaceful transfers of power, and commitment to democratic principles. The passage of this bill places that reputation in grave jeopardy.

A democracy is not measured solely by elections. It is measured by how it treats minorities, dissenting voices, and vulnerable populations. This bill strikes at the heart of those democratic values. The amendments do nothing to change the fact that now LGBTQI+ people are criminalized and sent to prison simply based on their sexuality or gender identity.

If signed into law, Ghana will move away from the community of nations that protect fundamental rights and toward a model of governance that empowers majoritarian prejudice at the expense of constitutional freedoms. It sends a message that certain citizens are less deserving of dignity, privacy, equality, and protection under the law simply because of who they are or who they are perceived to be.

The consequences will extend far beyond the LGBTQI+ community. Such laws invariably embolden and enhance the already pervasive harms suffered by LGBTQI+ Ghanaians: vigilantism, mob violence, extortion, blackmail, family rejection, workplace discrimination, arbitrary arrest, and abuse by state and non-state actors. They now create an atmosphere of fear in which neighbors are encouraged to inform on neighbors, families are divided, civil society organizations are threatened, and fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and conscience are undermined.

This Act also places Ghana on a collision course with its international obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and numerous other human rights commitments that Ghana has voluntarily undertaken. It stands in direct contradiction to the principles of human dignity, equality, and non-discrimination that underpin modern democratic governance.

AHRC is particularly alarmed by the broader signal this legislation sends across Africa.  Ghana is becoming a model for state-sponsored exclusion and persecution. The bill provides political cover for anti-LGBTQI+ movements elsewhere on the continent and threatens to fuel a new wave of discrimination and hostility far beyond Ghana’s borders, that ultimately leads to violence, panic and flight by terrified communities.

We call upon President John Dramani Mahama to reject this legislation and refuse assent. The presidency now stands at a defining moment in Ghana’s democratic history. The President will now have a choice between majority popularism and his campaign promise to sign the Bill, or whether Ghana will remain committed to constitutional democracy, human dignity, and the protection of fundamental rights for all its citizens.

The timing of this legislation is particularly striking. Only a few weeks ago, President John Dramani Mahama stood before the international community at the United Nations associated with efforts advancing justice, historical accountability, and reparatory measures for the enduring harms of slavery and colonialism. Ghana is preparing to host a conference concerning reparations.

Yet there is a profound irony in seeking justice for historic violations of human rights while simultaneously advancing legislation that strips a contemporary minority of fundamental rights and freedoms. It is difficult to reconcile calls for freedom, dignity, equality, and reparative justice on the global stage with the enactment of a law that institutionalizes the opposite.

Reparatory justice is ultimately rooted in a simple principle: that no group of people should be denied their freedom, humanity, dignity, or equal protection under the law. Those principles cannot be selectively applied.  Ghana cannot credibly champion liberty for some while legislating the persecution of others. As Ghana positions itself as a leader in conversations about historical injustice and human liberation, the world will inevitably ask how a nation can host conferences dedicated to freedom while simultaneously taking steps to deprive some of its own citizens of theirs. The contradiction is impossible to ignore, and history will judge it accordingly.

AHRC stands in solidarity with Ghana’s LGBTQI+ community, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and all Ghanaians who continue to believe that democracy is strongest when it protects everyone, equally. We also pledge our support to the LGBTQI+ Ghanaians - to continue as your ally and colleague in the fight for pathways and protection spaces, as we value your lives and your contributions to our societies, around the world.

Aluta Continua MELANIE NATHAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION Commissionermnathan@gmail.com

NOTE:

Many individuals are attempting to leave Ghana or making contingency plans to do so, often with limited financial means, no access to visas, and few realistic pathways to safety. For many, the fear is not only of prosecution under this law, but of the emboldening effect such legislation has on family members, community actors, vigilante groups, employers, landlords, and others who may feel legitimized in targeting LGBTQI+ people long before any formal prosecution occurs.

We would also like to call on the NAACP and Congressional Black Caucus in the United States to respond to African Human Rights Coalitions open letter about attending the reparation Conference in Ghana which is also happening during the month of June. Please respond. See letter here: