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The legislation would sentence those who identify as L.G.B.T.Q. to three years in jail and punish those who promote gay issues as well. It would be among the harshest on the African continent.
Ghana’s Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill that imposes jail terms on people who identify as L.G.B.T.Q. or organize gay advocacy groups, measures that Amnesty International called among the harshest on the African continent.
The legislation, if signed into law by President Nana Akufo-Addo, would mean that people convicted of identifying as gay could be sentenced to three years in jail, those deemed “promoters” of L.G.B.T.Q. issues could get five years, and those who engage in gay sex would receive five years instead of the three years under previous legislation.
The bill is the latest in a wave of anti-gay legislation passed in Africa: Tanzania, Niger and Namibia have tightened such laws in recent years, while Uganda has adopted an anti-gay law that includes the death penalty.
Thirty-one countries on the continent criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, according to Amnesty. Many have experienced a surge in homophobic attitudes, behaviours and rhetoric in recent years, the rights group said in a report last year.
“There are still so many countries in Africa where being L.G.B.T.Q. is considered evil or un-African,” said Linda Nduri, a Kenya-based campaign manager for Africa at All Out, a nonprofit organization.
Both major political parties in Ghana support the bill, but in recent days, its passage has been slowed by changes suggested by a member of the governing New Patriotic Party, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, to make it less harsh.
He said this month that Parliament should decide whether people convicted under the anti-gay law should be given counselling and made to perform community service instead of being jailed. But some of his colleagues in Parliament shouted him down, saying that jail terms should be imposed.
The bill, which was first introduced in Parliament in 2021, has received widespread public support and has been pushed by Christian, Muslim and traditional leaders in Ghana.
But human rights organizations have warned that, if passed into law, the bill would violate fundamental rights enshrined in the country’s Constitution, like the right to equality and not to be discriminated based on sex or gender.
Michael Akagbor, a senior program officer in charge of human rights at the Center for Democratic Development, a research organization promoting good governance in Ghana, said his organization was already challenging the legislation in the country’s Supreme Court.
“It is inexplicable to pass such a bill in a democracy that is Ghana,” Mr. Akagbor said. “But we still have legal remedies to prevent it from becoming reality.”
加納議會決定通過一項反同性戀法案並判處監禁
該法案將對那些被認定為 L.G.B.T.Q 的人判處刑罰。 判處三年監禁，並懲罰那些宣揚同性戀議題的人。 這將是非洲大陸最嚴峻的情況之一。
加納議會週三通過了一項法案，對 L.G.B.T.Q 人士處以監禁。 或組織同性戀倡導團體，國際特赦組織稱這些措施是非洲大陸最嚴厲的措施之一。
該法案如果由總統納納·阿庫福-阿多簽署成為法律，將意味著被定罪為同性戀的人可能會被判處三年監禁，這些人被視為 L.G.B.T.Q 的「推動者」。 問題可能會被判處五年監禁，而從事同性性行為的人將被判處五年監禁，而不是先前立法中的三年監禁。
該法案是非洲通過的一波反同性戀立法中的最新一項：坦尚尼亞、尼日和納米比亞近年來收緊了此類法律，而烏幹達則通過了一項包括死刑在內的反同性戀法。
據國際特赦組織稱，非洲大陸有 31 個國家將雙方同意的同性性行為定為犯罪。 該權利組織在去年的報告中表示，近年來，許多人的恐同態度、行為和言論激增。
「非洲仍有許多國家存在 L.G.B.T.Q 群體。 被認為是邪惡的或非非洲的”，非營利組織“全力以赴”駐肯尼亞的活動經理琳達·恩杜里 (Linda Nduri) 說。
加納的兩個主要政黨都支持該法案，但最近幾天，由於執政黨新愛國黨成員亞歷山大·阿芬約-馬爾金建議進行修改，以使其不那麼嚴厲，該法案的通過速度有所放緩。
他本月表示，議會應決定是否應向根據反同性戀法定罪的人提供諮詢並讓其從事社區服務，而不是入獄。 但他在議會的一些同事對他大聲喊叫，說應該判他監禁。
該法案於 2021 年首次在議會提出，並得到了公眾的廣泛支持，並得到了加納基督教、穆斯林和傳統領導人的推動。
但人權組織警告說，如果該法案通過成為法律，將侵犯該國憲法規定的基本權利，例如平等權和不受性別歧視的權利。
促進加納善政的研究組織民主發展中心負責人權的高級項目官員邁克爾·阿卡博爾表示，他的組織已經在對該國最高法院的立法提出質疑。
「在加納這個民主國家通過這樣一項法案是令人費解的，」阿卡博爾先生說。 “但我們仍然有法律補救措施來防止它成為現實。”
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