The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, has indicated that the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 by Ghana’s Parliament will be a barrier to ending AIDS if it is assented to become law.
The bill, which is commonly referred to as an anti-LGBTQ+ bill, was unanimously passed by Parliament on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
Responding to the development, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, in a statement dated February 28, said, “If it [anti-LGBTQ+ bill] becomes law, it will obstruct access to life-saving services, undercut social protection and jeopardise Ghana’s development success.”
“If Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill becomes a law, it will exacerbate fear and hatred,” the statement noted, adding that, it “could incite violence against fellow Ghanaian citizens, and will negatively impact on free speech, freedom of movement and freedom of association.”
The statement also emphasised the importance of the Ghanaian authorities to ensure that “everyone has equal access to essential services without fear, stigma, or discrimination.”
The bill has not yet become a law in Ghana.
Meanwhile, a leading proponent of the bill and MP for the Ningo-Prampram constituency, Samuel Nartey George, has indicated parliament’s readiness to ensure the bill reaches Jubilee House, the seat of government, in the next seven days for President Akufo-Addo to assent to it.
Read the full statement below:
MORE ON ANTI-LGBTQ+ BILL PASSAGE:
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- Anti-Gay bill: Sodomy takes its root from prison – Afenyo-Markin still against custodial sentencing
- Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill: Ignore Bretton Woods institutions, seek support from wealthy Muslim countries – COMOG tells Akufo-Addo