Ningo Prampram Lawmaker Samuel Nartey George, who is one of the proponents of the anti-gay bill, has said that his position on the matter of LGBTQ+ remains steadfast.
He says he has taken note of the full statement Ghana made on the floor in relation to the government’s position on draft resolution L.24.
He says he aligns fully with the letter and spirit of the text.
However, he said he could not, in good conscience, understand the decision to abstain in the subsequent vote.
“That vote is in conflict with Ghana’s espoused position and my conscience. We MUST at all times make our position clear and unambiguous. Like I indicated earlier, together with my Colleagues in Parliament, we have resubmitted the same Bill that was passed last year by Parliament, which President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (Former) refused to sign.
“I urge Parliament to expedite the approval process so we present the Bill to President John Dramani Mahama. The innocence of Ghanaian children and the sanctity of our values cannot be traded for any consideration. Let truth and our conscience, and principles be our guiding light,” the Minister for Communications wrote on his X page.
His comments come at a time when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that Ghana did not vote at the 59th session of Human Rights Council (HRC) to support LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
A statement issued on Wednesday, July 9 by the Ministry noted that the vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council was only about whether persons who identify as LGBTQI should be protected against violence and discrimination or not.
The Ministry said the vote which Ghana abstained from was not about support for LGBTQI rights rather the renewal of the mandate of the Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
“There was no vote on the support of LGBTQI for which Ghana abstained as has been wrongly reported by a section of the Ghanaian media,” the statement stated.
The Minister explained that Ghana took the decision to abstain from the vote in line with Chapter 5, Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution, which specifically prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, or social and economic status.
The resolution requests the Independent Expert to continue to report annually on the implementation of the mandate to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly in accordance with their respective programmes of work.
The vote which took place on Monday, July 7, 2025 saw 29 member states vote in favour, 15 against, while Ghana was among three countries that abstained.
The Ministry added that a statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Ghana during the Human Rights Council session unequivocally clarified Ghana’s position on the subject by stating among other things that: “Our understanding of the traditional definition of gender is the male sex or female sex, especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences.”
“Similarly, sex in our view refers to either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided and used for statistical purposes and policy monitoring”.
The Ministry assured that government is very mindful of the public’s general opposition and the government’s strong stance against the subject of LGBTQI rights and will not act in any manner to undermine this position.
In May 2025, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, announced plans to reintroduce the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill, which had previously sparked both local and international debate.
The proposed legislation seeks to criminalise same-sex relationships, as well as the promotion, advocacy, or funding of LGBTQ+ causes.
If passed, the bill would increase the maximum prison sentence for same-sex sexual acts from three to five years and impose jail terms for those who publicly support or promote LGBTQ+ rights.
Credit: Laud Nartey
