MEMORANDUM ONTHEPROPERHUMANSEXUALRIGHTSANDGHANAI

AN
FAMI
LYVALUESBI
LL,
2021
COMMENTSFROM THECOMMI
SSI
ONONHUMANRIGHTSANDADMI
NSTRATI
VE
JUSTI
CE(
CHRAJ)

I
NTRODUCTORYREMARKS
The “ Pr
oper Human SexualRi ght
s and Fami ly Values” bil
lhas gener ated
consider
ablepubl i
cdebat efrom acr osssectionofGhanai anssi ncei t
scontent
becamepubl ic.Ononehand,pr oponentsoft hebillhavedefendeditast i
mel
yand
expansivewi t
ht hev i
ew t oaddressingt helacunaei nt heexisti
ngl awsagainst
acti
vi
tiesofLGBTQ+per sons.Opponent sontheot herhand,havearguedt hatt
hebil
l
hasfarr eachingconsequencesf orthehumanr i
ghtsofLGBTQ+per sonswhoar e
consider
edoneoft hev ulner
ablegroupsi nthecountry.
TheCommi ssiononHumanRi ghtsandAdmi ni
str
ativ
eJust ice( Commissi on)isa
Consti
tuti
onalBodyest abli
shedpursuantt
othe1992Const itution(theConst i
tut
ion)
bythe CHRAJAct ,1993( Act456)topromoteandpr otectt hehumanr i
ght sand
fr
eedomsofal lpersonsi nGhana.TheCommissionisthusmandat edbyarticle218(f
)
oftheConstitution“ t
oeducat et
hepublicastohumanr i
ghtsandf r
eedomsbysuch
means as t he Commi ssi
onermay decide incl
uding publicati
ons,lectures and
symposia.
.”
I
tisalsoimport
antt
oemphasi
sethatt
heCommi ssi
onrecogni
sestheconst
it
uti
onal
obl
igati
onimposedonPar
li
amentbyar
ti
cle93(
2)whichst
atesasfol
lows:
“subjecttotheprovi
sionsofthi
sConst
itut
ion,
thelegi
slat
ivepowerofGhana
shallbev estedinParl
iamentandshal
lbeexerci
sedinaccor dancewi
ththe
Const i
tut
ion.
’’(
Emphasisours)
Howev er,astheNationalHumanRi ghtsInsti
tut
ionoperati
nginaccordancewit
hthe
ParisPrinci
ples,theCommi ssion i
saddi t
ionall
yenjoined t
o provi
deadvisori
es,
recommendat i
ons,opinions to government( incl
uding Parl
iament)and publi
c
offi
cial
soni ssuesofhumanr ightsconcern.
I
tisthereforeagai
nstt
hisbackdropthattheCommi ssi
onhaselectedtoproff
eri
ts
opi
nion/
r ecommendati
onsonthePr operHumanRightsandSexualValuesBi
llt
othe
Par
li
amentofGhanaf orsoberref
lecti
onandpossi
bleconsi
derat
ion.
GENERALCOMMENTS
TheCommissi
onhasobserv
edthatt
hef
oll
owingthemesformedt
hebasi
sorr
aison
d’
etr
eoft
hebil
lasexpr
essedint
hememorandum accompanyi
ngi
t.
a.Cul
tur
e
Page(
i)par
agr
aph(
4)st
ates“
….t
hehousewant
stost
atewi
thoutequi
vocat
iont
hat

1
t
hroughouthi
stor
y,nowher
edoesaGhanaiancultur
esubscr
ibet
oLGBTIwhi
chi
sa
t
aboo,inhumanandali
entoourGhanai
ansoci
ety
.”
Itisnoti ndoubtthatev erysocietydeter minesit
sowncul turalvaluesandpr acti
ces
and t heref
oret he argumentofcul t
ur ei nt he contextofr ightsis nota new
phenomenon.I ti
showev erwor t
hment ioningthatcultureisdy namic,evolvi
ng,andin
facti ncl
usive.Thecommi tteeonEconomi cSoci alandCul t
uralRights( CESCR)
definescultureas“ br
oad,encompassi ngal lmanif
estationsofhumanexi st
enceand
alsoasal i
vi
ngpr ocess,histori
cal,
dynami candevolvingwi t
hapast ,apresentanda
future”.I
tisalsoequallyt r
uet hati
nev er ysoci
etywhilesomecul t
uralpracti
cesmay
bedomi nant,ot
hersmaynotbutdeser v ingofequal protecti
onbef orethelaw.
Relatedtot hecul t
ureargumenti sthenotionthatLGBTQ+i sal i
ent oAfri
ca.Whil
e
theterm‘ LGBTQ+’andhumanr i
ghtsf orthatmattermayber egardedaswestern
constructs,thephil
osophy( v
alues)whichundergir
dt hem –dignity,equal
it
yandnon-
discri
minat i
on–appl ytoallhumansev er
ywhere.Indeed,thesev alueshaveshaped
anti-
colonialstr
ugglesinGhanaandt herestofthecontinent,andcont i
nuetoshape
diff
erentst r
ugglesacrossthewor l
dtoday.
Whilet heCommi ssiondoesnotseekt oengagePar li
amentonahi stor
icaldebat e
aroundLGBTQ+,i ti
sequal l
yrelevantt oment ionthatsomeant hropologicalstudies
haveal soshownt hatcer t
aincul turalpracti
cesandv al
uesacrosst hecont inent
1
provedt hatsame-sexconductexi stedont hecontinentevenbeforecoloniali
zati
on.
Mur r
ayandRoscoe’ ssemi nalwor k,“Boywi vesandf emalehusbands:st udiesof
Afri
can homosexual it
ies”empi ri
cal l
ydemonst rat
ed the prev
alenceofsamesex
2
rel
ationsinatleast50Af ri
cansoci eti
es.I nGhana, ter
mssuchas“ ’
KojoBesi a”,
Obaa
Barimas”poi nt
stother ecogni
ti
onofgenderf l
uidit
yofsomemember soft hesociety
.
b.Rel
igi
on
Page(ii
i)
,paragraph( 1)st i
pulates“ci
vi
lsoci et
yorganisati
onsincl
udingt henat
ional
coal
it
ion for proper human sexualr ights and f amilyvalues whi ch i
st he
amalgamationofChr istianandpar a-Chr
isti
anbodi es,rel
igi
ousbodiesincludi
ngt he
GhanaPentecost alandChar ismati
cCounci l,t
hecoaliti
onofMusl i
m or gani
sati
ons,
theadvocatesforChr isthav econdemnedt headvocacyoft heacti
viti
esofpersons
i
nsupportofLGBTQ+per sons.”
Unquestionably
,Chri
sti
ansandMusl imsform si
gnificantpercentageoftheGhanai
an
populati
on,andassucht hevaluesoftheseAbr ahami crel
igionsaremostl i
kel
yto
i
nfluenceanynat i
onalconversati
on.Whilethismaybet r
ue,t heGhanaianstat
ei s
l
argelyregardedassecularbasedonConst i
tuti
onalet hosthanar el
i
giousonegiv
en
thatnopar t
icul
arrel
igi
ousgroupl aycl
aimtot her epubli
cbei nggov er
nedbasedon
i
tsdoct r
ine.

1
SOMur r
ay‘
homosexuali
tyintr
aditi
onalsub-
Sahar
anAfr
icaandcontemporar
yAfrica’
inMur
ray&
Roscoepp1-18)
2
SOMur r
ay&W Roscoe(
ed)1998)Boy-wi
vesandfemal
ehusbands:St
udiesofAfr
ican
homosexual
i
ties(
in)BAnderson‘Pol
iti
csofHomosexual
i
tyinAfr
ica’
(2007)
1Afri
cana123

2
TheI
992Const
it
uti
onf
ori
nst
ancest
atesi
nthepr
eambl
easf
oll
ows:
“…wet hepeopl eofGhana,i
nex erci
seofournatur
alandinali
enableri
ght sto
est
abli
shaf r
amewor kofgov ernmentwhichshallsecur
ef orourselvesand
poster
it
yt hebl
essingsofli
berty
,equali
tyofopport
unit
yandpr osperi
ty”.Also,
art
icl
e1( 2)stipul
atesthattheConst i
tuti
on shal
lbet hesupr emel aw of
Ghana…”
I
ti sthe consider
ed view ofthe Commi ssi
on that,Ghana is a const
it
utional
democrati
cnat i
onandassuch,const i
tut
ionalethosofl iber
tyandequali
tymust
guideever
yorganofgov er
nmentwhenperformingaf unct
ionundert
heConst i
tuti
on
(seeart
icl
e12(1)ofConsti
tut
ion)
c.Cr
imi
nal
Law
Anot herj ust ifi
cationf ort hebi llist hatsect ion104oft heCr iminalof
f encesAct ,
1960( Act29)i sinadequat etoappr opr i
atel ydealwi thLGBTQ+asacr imi
nalof fence.
Itishowev eri mpor tantt orevisitcer t
ainf undament alpr i
nciplesunder pinni
ngt he
foundat i
onofcr imi nall aw.Schol arshav edi fferedinopi nionast owhatshoul df orm
thebasi sf orcr imi nalisingapar ti
cul arconduct .JohnSt uartMi ll
s,oneoft heleadi ng
scholar si nt hef ield,cont endedt hatt hepur poseofcr i
mi nall aw i
sessent iall
yt o
protectt he “ publicf rom har m.”Ther efor e,shoul d sexualact i
vit
ybet ween t wo
consent ing adul ts pass as “ harm t o soci et
y” and whi ch should war rant
cri
mi nalisat ion?Fur thert othis,i st hequest onofmensr
i eaandt heact usr eus
requirement swhi chmustbesat isfiedf oranactt obedeemeda“ cr i
me. ”The
resultantquest ioni s,whet herindi vidualshol dingt hemsel v esasLGBTQ+per sons
enought owar rantanar restbasedont heirsexualor ientati
on?Thi shasthet endency
tooccasi onunbr idledpr ofi
li
ngofper sonsbasedont heirper ceivedgender /sexual
orientati
ont her ebyl eadi ngtoar bitr
ar yar rest sanddet enti
onofLGBQ+per sons.
d.HumanRi
ght
sLaw
TheCommi ssi
onhasagai nobservedthatspeci
ficref
erenceshav ebeenmadet o
i
nternati
onalhumanr i
ghtslawtosupportthepassageoft hebil
lpart
icul
arl
yar t
icl
e
2(4)oftheUNChar ter.Fur
ther
,ref
erenceisalsomadet oar t
icl
es12(2),17(1)and
21(1)(a)and( d)oft he1992Const i
tuti
on,Vigi
l
anti
sm andRel atedOf f
encesAct ,
2019andt heCy ber
securit
yAct.
Drafter
sar guet hatwhil
er i
ghtsar enotabsolute,t
hef reedom t oassociateand
advocateforchangei nl
aworpubl icopini
ontowardsLGBTQ+per sonsdonotar ise
ont hepremi sethattheactort heirst
atusiscri
minal
isedint hefirstpl
ace.These
l
egislat
ionshav et husbeenempl oyedt ofor
ti
fythear gumentofanyr estr
ict
ion
placedont hefreedom ofpersonsidenti
fyi
ngasLGBTQ+t oexpresst hei
ropini
onor
sentimentsonhowt hecur
rentbil
lcanunderminethei
rhumanr ight
sgener all
y.
Attheheartofhumanr i
ght
sdiscoursear
ethesefundamentalquesti
ons.Whatdoes
i
tmeant obehuman, and,whodecideswhoisworthyofri
ghtsandwhoi snot?Also,
whethersexualor
ient
ati
onisahumanr i
ght?Thi
sobv i
ousl
yraisesthemainquest
ion

3
ofwhatconst i
tut
eshumanr ights.General
ly,humanr i
ghtsareent it
lementsand
cl
aimsi ndividualsmakeagai nstt hestat
eandnon- st
ateactorsbyv i
r t
ueoft hei
r
humanity.Humanr ight
sandf undament alfr
eedomsseekt oprotecthumanbei ngs
fr
om f earand want ,parti
cularl
yt hreat
s ofv iol
ence,assault
,har assmentand
discr
iminationinanyf or
m what soeverthatpotenti
all
yunderminet heci vi
l
,poli
ti
cal
,
economi c,socialandcult
uralrightsasguaranteedundert heuni
v ersal
lyacclai
med
standar
dset ti
nghumanr i
ghtsI nstr
ument– t heUni ver
salDeclarati
onofHuman
Rights(UDHR)
Ther efore,does sexual it
yorgender /
sexualor i
entati
on qual i
fyas human r i
ghts
wort hyofpr ot
ecti
on?Inot herwords,whetherwhom aper sonisattract edtosexual
ly
i
sanent it
lementoracl ai
m onecanmake?Sexualor ientati
onofani ndiv
iduali
san
i
ntrinsicaspectofaper sonandpar tofthemul ti
plei
dentiti
esani ndividualembodies.
Fori nstance,ani ndi
vidualcanembodymul t
ipl
eidentit
iessuchasgenderi dent
it
y,
race, socio-economicstatus,rel
i
gion,i
ncludingsexualorientati
on.Indeed, iti
spartof
anembodi mentofwhoaper sonis.Asobser vedbyjudgeEl buruoft heHi ghcourtof
Botswana:
“Sexualori
entat
ionisnotaf
ashi
onst
atement
.Iti
sani
mpor
tantat
tri
but
eof
3
one’spersonal
it
y.
Incont r
over
tibly,human r i
ghts are notabsol ute.Howev er ,anylimitati
ons must
compl ywit
ht hel i
mit
at i
ont est.Thus,al i
mit ati
ononar ightmustbeabsol ut
ely
necessar yfort headvant ageswhi chf ollow;mustnotr endert herightil
lusory,and
4
must be f ounded on l egit
imat e stat ei nterest.By way of i ll
ust r
ati
on,when
gov ernmentdecl aredl
ockdowndur ingt heout br eakofthecor onavi
ruspandemi c,t
he
freedom ofmov ementandot herr el
at edr i
ght swer ecur tail
ed.Thoser i
ghtsand
freedomsder ogatedwer ejusti
fiedbecauset hepur posewast osaf eguardpubl ic
health and saf etywhi ch wasundert hreat.I twasal so fora legiti
mat e cause
(protecti
nglives),andlawf ul(
passageofv ari
ousExecut i
veInstruments).
Additi
onall
y,Ghana has r at
ifi
ed t he Af r
ican Char t
erand ot herhuman r i
ghts
i
nstrumentswhi chenj
oi nshert or espect,protectandf ulfi
lthehumanr i
ghtsofi ts
people.TheAf r
icanChar terwhichi sanAf ri
can-basedhumanr i
ght streatyenjoins
Stat
epar ti
est oensuret hat“everyi ndi
vi
dualshal lbeent i
tl
edt ot heenj oymentof
ri
ghtsand f reedomsr ecognised and guar anteed int hepr esentchar t
erwi thout
5
dist
incti
onofanyki ndsuchasr ace,ethnicgroup…. orotherstatus”. Theincl
usionof
thewor ds“ otherstatus”meanst hatthedr aftersoft heChar terr ecogniset he
evolvi
ngnatur eofthehumani dent i
tyasanon- exhausti
v eli
sttoaccommodat enew
i
dent i
ti
esorst atuswit
ht hepassageoft ime.
I
tisi
nst
ruct
ivet
oment
iont
hatar
ti
cle28oft
heAf
ri
canChar
teral
sopr
oject
sthe
3
BBCNews.( 2019)Botswanadecr i
minal
iseshomosex uali
tyinl
andmar
krul
ing.Ret
ri
evedAugust8,
2019,fr
om htt
ps://www.bbc.
com/ news/world-
afr
ica-48594162
4
Consti
tut
ionalri
ghtsproj
ectandothersvNigeri
a( 2000)AHLRR227paras41&42,Mediar
ight
s
agendaandot her
svNi ger
ia(2000)AHRLR200par a67-69.
5
Afri
canCharteronHumanandPeopl e’
sRights(
1986)ar t
icl
e2

4
env i
ableAfri
canv alueoft oler
anceasat oolforhumanr i
ghtsprotecti
onbyst at i
ng
that“everyindi
vidualshallhav ethedutyt orespectandconsi derhi sfell
ow bei ngs
withoutdiscri
mination,andt omai nt
ainrelat
ionsai medatpr omoting,safe-guarding
andr ei
nforci
ngmut ualrespectandt ol
erance.”Itisthepositi
onoft heCommi ssion
thatwhilethe“major i
ty”mayr egardLGBTQ+asunwel come,itdoesnotdet ractfrom
LGBTQ+per sonst heirhumani t
ybutr at
hert olerancecoupledwi t
hdi aloguef oran
effecti
ve engagementhol ds mor e promising f ut
ureforbet t
erhuman r ights
protecti
onasopposedt ocri
minali
sati
on.
Significant
ly,theAf ri
canCommi ssiononHumanandPeopl e’sRight s–anor ganof
theAf ri
canUni onadopt edResol uti
ononPr ot ectionagai nstVi olenceandOt her
HumanRi ghtsVi olationsAgai nstPer sonsont heBasi soft hei
rRealorI mput ed
SexualOr i
entationorGenderI dent it
y( Resol uti
on275) i n2014whi chisder ived
from ar ti
cl
es2,3,4and5oft heAf ri
canChar t
eront her ighttof reedom f rom
discriminati
on,equal i
ty ,
lifeanddi gnityrespect ivelyandcal l
edonst atepar t
iestot he
Af r
ican Char er “
t t
o ensur ethathuman r i
ght s defenders wor ki n an enabl ing
env i
ronmentt hati sfreef rom sti
gma, repri
sal sorcr iminalpr osecutionasar esultof
their human r ights pr otect
ion act i
v i
ties, i ncludi
ng t he r i
ght s of sexual
6
mi noriti
es.
”TheCommi ssionisoft hev iew t hatasast at epar t
yt ot heAf rican
Char terandi t
scor r
espondi ngresol uti
ons,Ghanai sexpect edbyt hel ongst anding
l
egalpr i
nci
pleofpact asuntser v anda7t ocompl ywi thobligationsimposedonherby
treati
esr at
ifi
edv oluntaril
yi ngoodf ait
h.
e.Fr
eedom ofExpr
essi
on,
Assembl
yandAssoci
ati
on
Followi ngf rom poi nt(d)abov e,
itisthereforequi teproblematicf ordr aftersoft hebill
toat temptt ocr iminali
sefreedom ofassoci ati
on,assembl yandexpr essionofLGBT
per sons.Fr eedom ofexpr ession is one oft he fundament alt ool s av ail
ablet o
i
ndi vidualsand ci vi
lsocietyi npar ti
culart o eff
ectsoci alchange.Consequent ly,
articl
e21( 1)( a)oft he1992Const itut
ionsaf eguardsf reedom ofexpr ession.As
establ i
shedear l
ieron,thef r
eedom ofLGBTQ+per sonst oassoci at e,assembl eand
raiseconcer nsoft heimpactofapubl i
clawont hei
rlivescannotbeder ogat edasf ar
ashumanr ightsl aw isconcer ned.Att her iskofsoundi ngr epetitive,itisnoti n
disput et hathumanr i
ghtsar enotabsol ute.Howev er,theconcer nshav ebeent he
8
degr eet owhi ch, andthegroundsuponwhi cht hoserightsmayber est ri
cted.Whi le,
ther emaybemar kedcul t
uraldifferencesacr osssoci et
ies,ther estricti
onoft his
ri
ghtmustsat isfythelimit
ationtest.Beingpar tofagamutofr i
ghtsundert heICCPR,
theHumanRi ght sCommi t
teecont endst hatt hegroundspr ovidedt or estri
ctsuch
ri
ght sal readyv eststateswit hsuffi
cientpower sdur i
ngemer gencies.Whi chmeans
that emer gency si tuati
ons wi llbe t aken i nto account when assessi ng t he
propor tionalityofl imit
ingthoser ightsbutmaynothav et obei nvokedt oder ogate
6
ResolutionOnProt
ecti
onAgai nstViol
enceAndOtherHumanRi ghtsViolat
ionsAgai
nstPersonson
theBasi softhei
rRealorImputedSexual Ori
ent
ati
onorGenderIdenti
ty(2014)par
a3
7
Arti
cl
e26ofVi ennaConv enti
onont heLawofTreati
es(
8
IBant ekas&LOetteInternat
ionalHumanRightsLawandPractice,CambridgeUniv
ersi
ty
Pr ess,
(2020)Thi
rdEdit
ion.P.404

5
 9
fr
om t
hatright. Att
hisstage,t
hequesti
ontoaddressi
s,whatistheexist
ing“state
ofemergency”towarr
anttheimposi
ti
onofrest
ri
cti
onsonthefreedom ofexpression
byLGBTIpersonsasjust
if
iedinthebi
ll
?
Whiler ecognisinglocalandnat i
onaldi ff
er ences, oft
ent imes,groundssuchaspubl i
c
mor ali
tyused f orther estri
ction off reedom ofexpr essi
on “ carriest he ri
skof
10
pri
vileging maj ori
tari
an orst at e centrici nterpret
ation ofr ight s” and t herefore
i
mposi ti
onofsuchr estrict
ionsr equir
eacar efulassessmentoft heci rcumst ancesof
personswhowi l
lbeaf fectedbyt hem.Same- sexsexualor i
ent
at i
onev enifcontrary
topr evailingsocialnorms,i tisi mpossi blet odi vor
cef rom othermul ti
pleidentit
ies
anindi vidualembodi es.Thus,cani tbej ust if
iedthatper sonsident ifyi
ngasLGBTQ+
cannotf r eel
yexpresst hemsel vesagai nstt heconsequencesofst at elawsandpubl i
c
att
itudesont hei
rlives?I tistheconsi der edv iew oft heCommi ssiont hathol ding
suchv iewsmaybepr onouncedunconst itutional i
fchallenged.

f
.Sust
ainabl
eDev
elopmentGoal
s(SDGs)
GhanahassubscribedtotheSDGsast hesuccessortotheMDGs.Indeed,t
he
Presi
dentoftheRepubli
c,NanaAddoDankwaAkuf o-
Addoist
heco-chai
rofthe
eminentgr
oupofadvocat
esfort
heSDGs.
TheSDGscr i
ticall
yanalysedarehumanr i
ghtscommi tmentsexpressedi nadifferent
for
m.Putdi fferentl
y,humanr i
ghtsandt heSDGsar etwosi desoft hesamecoi n.The
overar
chingt hemeoft heSDGsi s“leavingnoonebehi nd”simil
art otheprinciples
undergi
rdinghumanr ight
s–non- di
scriminati
on,andequal i
ty–whi chmeansthatany
acti
onbyanar m ofgov ernmentmustbeseent oadvancet hesev al
uesandnott o
waterthem down.Ther ef
ore,abil
lwhichhast hetendencyofcr i
mi nal
i
singthest atus
ofLGBQ+basedont heirsexualori
entationwil
ldefini
telypusht hem tothef ri
nges
henceunder miningtheSDGsagendaof“ l
eavi
ngnoonebehi nd”

SPECI
FICSCOMMENTSONSELECTEDCLAUSESOFTHEBI
LL

i
. Clause1:TheCommi ssionobser v
est hatper sonshol di
ngt hemselvesas
i
nt ersexareincludedint hebil
lforcriminalisati
onandpossi bleincar
cerati
on.
TheCommi ssi
onwoul dli
ketoemphasi set hatintersexpersonsasdef i
nedby
thebi l
las“ anindiv
idualwhosesexualanat omyorchr omosomesdoesnotf i
t
the t r
adit
ionalmaker s offemal e ormal e assigned atbi r
th.”Clearl
y,a
biologicalconditi
on orsexchar acteri
stics and nota quest i
on ofsexual
orientati
on.Ani ndivi
dualwhodoesnotf itintothebi narycategori
sati
onof
mal eandf emaleduet obiol
ogical“anomal y
”cannotbeconsi deredtohav e
commi tt
edacr imeov ersomethingtheper sondi dnotdet er
mine.

9
Asabovep.406
10
Asabov
ep.405

6
i
i
. Cl
ause 2:t
his pr
ovi
sion seeks t
o pr
ovi
de an i
nter
pret
ati
on f
or what
const
it
utes “
Ghanai
an Fami
l
yVal
ues”and st
ates t
hatt
hese i
ncl
ude t
he
r
ecogni
ti
oni
nCl
ause2(
f)t
hat“
Ghanai
anFami
l
yVal
ues”hol
dthei
deal
sof
compassi
ont
owar
dst
heweakandv
ulner
abl
easwel
last
hecust
omar
yideal
t
o est
abl
i
sh a f
ree and j
ustGhanai
an soci
ety
.Def
ini
tel
y,t
his Cl
ause i
s
consi
stentwi
thhumanr
ight
spr
inci
plesandv
aluesofpr
otect
ingt
heweak
andv
ulner
abl
efr
om t
het
yrannyoft
hemaj
ori
tybasedont
he“
maj
ori
tar
ian
v
alues”
.Inot
herwor
ds,t
heso-
cal
l
edGhanai
anHumanVal
uesar
econsi
stent
wi
thhumanr
ight
sval
uesandal
sor
ecogni
set
heneedt
oshowsy
mpat
hyand
empat
hyt
oal
lhumanbei
ngsr
egar
dlessofhei
nouscr
imest
hatt
heymi
ght
hav
ecommi
tt
edi
fatal
l
.

i
i
i. Cl
ause3(
2)(
e)(
f)(
g):t
hispr
ovi
sioni
sinconsi
stentwi
tht
heConst
it
uti
on,
par
ti
cul
arl
yAr
ti
cle33(
1),34(
1).I
nfact
,nol
awhowev
erwel
l
-int
ent
ionedcan
t
akeawayt
hemandat
esoft
hei
nst
it
uti
onsr
efer
redt
oint
hisCl
auseoft
heBi
l
l
especi
all
ywhen t
he Judi
ciar
yisv
est
ed wi
tht
he excl
usi
ve const
it
uti
onal
mandat
eto adj
udi
cat
e cases,i
ncl
udi
ng i
nter
pret
ati
on oft
he l
aw i
na
democr
ati
cdi
spensat
ion.I
nrespectoft
heLegi
slat
ure,i
tisdut
yboundnott
o
ent
ert
ainBi
l
lsorenactl
awst
hatar
epot
ent
ial
l
yinconsi
stentwi
tht
heet
hosof
f
reedom, j
ust
ice, and t
he pr
otect
ion of f
undament
al human r
ight
s
under
pinni
ng t
he Const
it
uti
on.Regar
ding t
he I
ndependentConst
it
uti
onal
Bodi
esl
i
keCHRAJandNCCE,
Clause3(
2)(
h)oft
heBi
l
lisv
oidabi
nit
ioi
nthat
i
truns count
ert
othe const
it
uti
onal
l
y guar
ant
eed mandat
es oft
hese
i
nst
it
uti
onst
opr
otectt
hehumanr
ight
sandf
reedomsofal
lhumanbei
ngs,
as
wel
laseducat
etheci
ti
zenr
yont
hei
rri
ght
sandr
esponsi
bil
i
ties,i
ncl
udi
ng
homophobi
c/hat
espeech,pol
i
cyandbi
l
lst
hatcani
nci
tehat
red,f
earand
v
iol
enceagai
nstLGBTIper
sons,
whoar
ehumanbei
ngs.

i
v. Cl
ause4appear
stoobr
oadandv
aguei
nter
msofwhatconst
it
utest
he
par
amet
ersorscopeoft
het
erm“
under
mini
ng”PSHR.Thi
scanl
eadt
oabuse
ofpowerbypubl
i
cof
fi
cial
sempower
edt
oar
restandpr
osecut
eof
fender
s
undert
heBi
l
l.Addi
ti
onal
l
y,t
hisCl
ause can adv
ersel
yaf
fectt
her
ightt
o
per
sonal
li
ber
tyofanyper
sonper
cei
vedorsuspect
edt
obeLGBTIper
son.

v
. Cl
ause6(
1)(
a)(
i)(
ii
)(i
ii
):t
hispr
ovi
sionv
iol
atest
her
ightt
opr
ivacyofhome

7
 andunj
ust
if
iedi
nter
fer
encewi
thper
sonall
i
ber
ty.I
tist
ri
teknowl
edget
hat
usual
l
yhumanbei
ngsdonotengagei
nsexualact
sinopenpl
acesot
hert
han
i
nthepr
ivacyoft
hei
rhomes.Ther
efor
e,anyat
temptt
opr
omot
easi
tuat
ion
wher
ebypeopl
e’
shomescanbecomet
hesubj
ectofi
nvasi
onsmer
elyi
n
sear
chofper
sonsdeemedt
obeengagi
ngi
nsame-sexact
ivi
ti
escannotbe
count
enanced.

v
i. Cl
ause12(
2):t
hispr
ovi
sionseekst
ogaganyf
orm ofadv
ocacyai
medat
pr
otect
ing LGBTIper
sonsf
rom act
sofi
nti
midat
ion,assaul
t,har
assment
,
v
iol
ence,homophobi
aet
c.whi
chunder
minest
hei
rri
ght
stol
i
veashuman
bei
ngsdev
oidoft
hei
rri
ghtt
oli
vewi
thoutf
ear
.

v
ii
. Cl
auses15and16:t
heseCl
ausesv
iol
atet
her
ight
stof
reedom ofexpr
essi
on
andopi
nion;f
reedom ofassoci
ati
on;f
reedom ofassembl
yandmov
ement
,
whi
char
ecr
it
icalf
orpr
otect
ingt
her
ightofLGBTper
sonst
omountadv
ocacy
campai
gnst
opr
otectt
hemsel
vesf
rom i
mmi
nentdangerort
hreatt
othei
r
l
i
vesoccasi
onedbyhomophobi
cpr
opaganda.

v
ii
i. Cl
ause17and18:t
heseCl
ausesf
lyi
nthef
aceoft
her
ight
stoequal
i
tyand
non-
discr
imi
nat
ionaswel
lasf
reedom ofassoci
ati
on.I
tist
oobr
oadr
egar
ding
whoandhow t
odet
ermi
neaper
son’
sst
atusasanLGBTIper
sont
hatmay
r
esul
tindeni
alofser
vices.I
nher
ent
ly,t
hiscl
auseal
sohast
het
endencyt
o
l
eadt
opr
oofofaper
son’
sst
atust
hroughpot
ent
iali
ntr
oduct
ionofLGBTI
-f
ree
Passpor
t(l
i
keCOVI
D19Vacci
nePasspor
t).

i
x. Cl
auses20&21:t
hispr
ovi
sioni
sini
micalt
ohumanr
ight
sint
hati
tseekst
o
pr
ovi
deaccesst
omedi
calcar
e(r
ightt
oheal
th)undercer
tai
ncondi
ti
ons.I
n
ot
herwor
ds,i
tpr
ovi
desf
orconsentt
obesoughtunderdur
ess.Fur
ther
mor
e,
i
tseekst
ogi
vedi
rect
ivest
oaj
udi
cialof
fi
ceri
ntheexer
ciseofhi
sdut
ies,
whi
chi
ncl
udesuphol
dingt
hehumanr
ight
sandf
undament
alf
reedom ofal
l
per
sons.

4.CONCLUDI
NGREMARKS

8
TheCommi
ssi
onacknowl
edgest
hatLGBT+i
ssuei
sacont
ent
iousone.Nonet
hel
ess,
t
heCommi
ssi
on bel
i
evest
hatt
hebi
l
lhast
het
endencyt
o wor
sen t
heal
ready
pr
ecar
ious human r
ight
s condi
ti
ons ofLGBTQ+ per
sons as a mi
nor
it
y gr
oup
i
ncl
udi
ng st
if
li
ng f
reedom ofexpr
essi
on ofhuman r
ight
sdef
ender
sguar
ant
eed
undert
he Const
it
uti
on.The uni
ntended consequence ofcr
imi
nal
i
sat
ion f
urt
her
exposesLGBTIper
sonst
omar
ginal
i
sat
ion,v
ulner
abi
l
iti
es,andgr
osshumanr
ight
s
v
iol
ati
onssuchas“
mobj
ust
ice’
’whi
chi
sal
readyasub-
cul
tur
eint
heGhanai
an
soci
etywher
efori
nst
ancesuspect
edt
hiev
esandwoment
aggedas“
wit
ches”hav
e
sadl
ybecomev
ict
ims.

The Commi
ssi
on concl
udes by st
ati
ng t
hatwhi
l
e Par
li
amenti
svest
ed wi
th
l
egi
slat
ivepoweroft
hest
ate,passi
ng abi
l
lwi
thf
arr
eachi
ng i
mpl
i
cat
ionsf
or
v
ulner
abl
eGhanai
ansdemandsal
otofi
ntr
ospect
ionsoasnott
odentt
hei
mageof
Ghanaasanoasi
sofpeace,t
oler
anceanddemocr
acyont
hecont
inentandi
nthe
comi
tyofnat
ionsi
nter
nat
ional
l
y.

5.RECOMMENDATI
ON

TheCommi
ssi
ont
her
efor
erecommendst
hatanext
ensi
venat
ional
debat
easwel
las
const
ruct
iveengagementwi
tht
heLGBTQ+communi
tyandal
lrel
evantst
akehol
der
s
wi
l
lpr
ovi
deabet
ternat
ionalr
esponseont
hismat
terasopposedt
ocur
rentat
tempt
ofst
atecr
imi
nal
i
sat
iont
hrought
hisBi
l
l.

DATED THIS 29th SEPTEMBER 2021 AT THE OLD PARLI

AMENT HOUSE,HI
GH
STREET,ACCRA