Ghana's Anti-LGBTQI+ Bill Faces 'Fundamental Challenges'

Ghana's Justice Minister and Attorney-General Godfred Dame, has said that the anti-LGBTQI+ Bill is not unconstitutional but faces fundamental challenges.

The anti-LGBTQI+ Bill seeks to criminalise activities of persons who are lesbian, gay, transgender, transsexual or queer. It also seeks to criminalise persons who hold divergent socio-cultural notions of sex or who are persons with biological anomaly regarding their gender at birth. Persons involved in the promotion of, or who are advocating and funding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-related activities, as well as persons who conduct surgical procedures to reassign an individual's gender except for medical purposes will fall foul of the bill.

"Sections of the bill in its present form violates some fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, including right to freedom of expression, thought, conscience and freedom from discrimination while other provisions of the bill passes test of constitutionality. The bill will face some challenges when implemented because some provisions will violate some fundamental human rights and freedoms, particularly the right to privacy," Dame cautioned.