Human Rights, Homosexuality and the Law in Ghana: An Appraisal

On 13 th July 2015, the Circuit Court of Ghana in the first case on homosexuality in Ghana; The Republic v. Dr. Sulley Ali Gabass , sentenced the accused to 25 years imprisonment. The facts disclosed that the accused had anal sex with a minor. Six years later, the Ghanaian Parliament passed the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021, and enacted the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, 2024. The Act is awaiting Presidential assent to be passed into law. Two court cases were brought before the Ghana Supreme Court to prevent passage of the Bill into law asserting, among others, human rights and privacy violations. The President is however hesitant in signing the said Act and has asked parliament to await decision of the country's apex court. Till date of writing this paper, the Supreme Court has not made a final decision on the matter. The impasse has generated much media furore over the necessity or otherwise of the law. Proponents of the law cite cultural norms and family values while opponents focus on human rights principles of privacy and non-discrimination. Arguing from International Human Rights Law perspective, this doctrinal paper contributes to the debate by analysing the Ghanaian case law and jurisprudence on homosexuality, and provisions of the Bill and proposed Act. The paper finds, among others, that the scope of the proposed law is very wide and sweeping going beyond proscribing LGBTQ+ persons and their activities to prosecuting those associated with them. In criminalising all allies and advocates for gay rights, the proposed law is wider than the existing Criminal Offences Act that criminalises unnatural carnal knowledge. The paper argues that such wide scope could lead to witch- hunting and suppression of freedom of association. Keywords: Homosexuality, Human rights, Family values, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/144-04 Publication date: December 30 th 2024