If Parliament passes the LGBT bill, Amnesty International has declared that it will file a lawsuit against it.
This follows the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) calling for a revision of some parts of the proposed Ghanaian Family Value Bill 2021, also known as the Anti-LGBTQ bill, and the promotion of Proper Human Rights.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference has expressed support for the bill and emphasized that it is incorrect to criminalize someone’s sexual orientation.
The bill must be rejected because it violates Ghana’s Constitution, according to Genevieve Partington, the Country Director for Amnesty International, who was speaking on Starr Today with Joshua Kojo Mensah.
“First of all the bill does not even define who an LGBT person is, there is no definition. So how are you going to identify who an LGBT person is?
“There is a certain part of the bill that talks about romantic displays of affection. How do you define romantic affection between the same sex? So do you see two men holding hands apart of the LGBT community? These are some of the concerns that we have raised from the bill and so many other parts that we have issues with,” madam Patington stated.
“So it is going to bring homophobia in Ghana” mentioning that travelers may be mistakenly detained now that Ghana offers visas on arrival.
“Persons suspected to be LGBT are being forced from their houses, landlords and landlords are going through a forced eviction process. We really have to be concerned with this bill as Ghanaians and understand that it will not just affect LGBT community.
“I have always said that Amnesty International completely rejects this bill, it should not exist and criminalizing persons for an activity that happens in their bedroom is actually against international human rights laws. So we should not even be considering it.
“It is against the 1992 Constitution so all these things we have to consider. For Amnesty International should the bill be passed we will take it to court. As we are allowed to so that is the agenda we have,” she added.
