Ghana’s Anti-LGBTQ Bill Undermines Global Reparations Conference in Accra

Violations of International and Regional Human Rights Law

African Human rights Coalition - An Open Letter to Congressional Black Caucus, Leadership of the NAACP, UNESCO : Why Ghana Is Not a Safe Host for the 2026 Reparatory Justice Conference.

Ghana has announced that it will host a high-level global conference on reparatory justice on June 18–19, 2026, bringing together Heads of State, Foreign Ministers, and leading institutions, including the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP, to advance a unified global framework following the recent United Nations General Assembly resolution. Framed as a historic moment, “one blueprint, one voice”, the conference aims to position Ghana at the forefront of global justice advocacy. We strongly commend and support the core principles of reparatory justice and the stated purpose of this conference, recognizing the urgent need to address historical injustices through collective, global action. Yet this vision stands in direct and irreconcilable tension with the current human rights crisis unfolding within Ghana itself.

PDF VERSION OF THIS LETTER HERE:

GHANA REPARATORY CONFERENCE 2026 NAACP CBC .pdf

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The Open Letter to the Congressional Black Caucus, NAACP, UNESCO, and Participating Stakeholders

Re: Urgent Request to Reconsider Participation in Ghana’s June 2026 Reparatory Justice Conference

Dear Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Leadership of the NAACP, UNESCO Representatives, and Esteemed Stakeholders,

We write to you at a moment that demands moral clarity, consistency, and courage.

You have been invited to participate in what is being presented as a historic global conference on reparatory justice in Accra, Ghana, a gathering intended to advance a unified framework rooted in human dignity, accountability, and the legacy of historical wrongs. The ambition of this initiative is both significant and necessary.

However, the choice of Ghana as host, at this precise moment, fundamentally undermines the very principles the conference seeks to uphold. Ghana's Penal Code currently criminalizes homosexuality with stringent punitive measures and is poised to enact even harsher legislation:

1. Ghana Is On the Brink of Enacting a Law That Criminalizes Identity

Ghana’s Parliament has already demonstrated near-unanimous support for an extreme anti-LGBTQI bill, known as "The Family Values Bill" and President Mahama has publicly committed to assenting to it. The enactment of this law appears imminent.

This legislation does not merely criminalize the act of consensual same-sex intimacy and conduct between adults, it criminalizes identity itself. It targets individuals based on who they are or are perceived to be. It extends liability beyond LGBTQI individuals to include allies, advocates, service providers, and even those offering basic support or protection.

The result has already been clear: a surge in violence, fear, and forced displacement. The law - now before a Parliamentary committee is actively fueling persecution, which will be worse once enacted.

A conference grounded in justice cannot be held in a jurisdiction on the verge of legislating exclusion and criminalization of an entire class of people.

2. The Conference Will Exclude Those Most Impacted by Injustice

The current environment in Ghana makes it unsafe, if not impossible, for LGBTQI+ individuals, human rights defenders, and their allies to attend.

This is a practical and immediate bar to anyone who 'holds out' as "LGBTQIA" or is merely perceived as such. (the term "hold out" from the legislation itself) . Those whose lives and rights are directly implicated in global justice struggles will be unable to safely participate in a conference ostensibly dedicated to justice and inclusion.

A gathering that excludes vulnerable populations by design, or by foreseeable consequence, cannot credibly claim to represent a unified global voice.

3. Holding the Reparations Conference in Ghana Signals Endorsement of the Anti-LGBTQI Legislation

Proceeding with this conference in Ghana during this heightened moment sends a powerful and troubling message: that the international community is willing to overlook active and impending human rights violations in favor of diplomatic convenience.

Whether intended or not, hosting and participating under these conditions risks legitimizing and normalizing the very forms of state-sanctioned discrimination that global justice movements have long opposed.

Silence, presence, and participation in this context are not neutral acts—they carry meaning and consequence.

4. The Proposed Law Violates Foundational Human Rights Frameworks

The pending legislation stands in direct violation of:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly protections of dignity, equality, and freedom from discrimination

• The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees fundamental freedoms and non-discrimination

• Ghana’s own Constitution, which enshrines rights to privacy, liberty, and human dignity.*
  

To convene a global justice conference in a country actively contravening these frameworks creates a profound contradiction. One cannot meaningfully advance reparatory justice while ignoring contemporary injustice.

A Call for Immediate Reconsideration

We respectfully urge you to:

• Reconsider participation in the conference as currently planned in Ghana

• Call for relocation or postponement until conditions align with fundamental human rights standards

• Publicly affirm that any global justice framework must include and protect all people, without exception
  

Reparatory justice is about ensuring that present and future systems do not replicate exclusion, harm, and dehumanization. Moving forward in Ghana at this time does precisely that.

History will judge this moment by the consistency between principles proclaimed and actions taken.

We urge you to stand on the right side of that history.

Respectfully, _________________

Melanie Nathan Executive Director African Human Rights Coalition (Commissionermnathan@gmail.com) * In 2024 Ghana Supreme Court decision that upheld Section 104 of the Criminal Offences Act (1960)—the provision criminalizing “unnatural carnal knowledge. ”The Court, by a majority (often referenced as 5–2, though sometimes discussed in commentary as a broader bench consensus), rejected the argument that Section 104 violates constitutional rights to privacy, liberty, and human dignity. The justices essentially held that: "The claim that criminalizing same-sex sexual conduct violates rights to privacy, personal liberty, and human dignity is “unfounded” and “without merit.”