Ghana legislators aim to pass anti-gay bill before June 3 anti-gay conference
The legislative process in Ghana’s parliament is being aggressively fast-tracked
The LGBTQ advocacy group Rightify Ghana states:
Ghana’s Parliament Accelerates Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill Passage
On Thursday, 28th May 2026, the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs presented its report on the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill” (the anti-LGBTQ+ bill) to the Parliament of Ghana, officially recommending its full passage into law.
The legislative process is being aggressively fast-tracked this week:
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- 1. Adoption: Parliament has officially adopted the committee’s report.
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- 2. Second Reading: The bill has passed the Second Reading stage following a motion.[in order to pass it before] the upcoming 4th African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty, which [Parliament] is hosting in Accra from June 3-6, 2026.
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- 3. Consideration Stage: The bill is now undergoing a clause-by-clause debate and amendment phase. Once this stage concludes, a Third Reading will take place, making the bill effectively ready for final passage.
Why the sudden rush?
Parliament is expediting the process to align with the upcoming 4th African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty, which it is hosting in Accra from June 3-6, 2026.
Make no mistake: this conference is an anti-rights gathering organized to dismantle and attack women’s rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).
We must remain vigilant as these fundamental human rights are threatened.
Full speed ahead
The PM Express and MyJoyOnline reported that the Majority Chief Whip of the Parliament of Ghana, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, says Parliament could pass the reintroduced anti-LGBTQ bill within days. The headline of the MyJoy article was “We can pass it by Friday – Dafeamekpor signals rapid move on LGBTQ bill”.
What the anti-LGBTQ bill would do
The anti-LGBTQ bill calls for three years in prison for anyone who identifies as (“holds out as”) LGBTQ.
If enacted without change from its previous version, which was approved unanimously in Parliament in 2024 but never enacted, that means the bill would theoretically lead to the imprisonment of more than 350,000 people, based on a 2011 survey in which 1 percent of Ghana’s population said they were gay or lesbian.
The new legislation would expand on Ghana’s current law that already provides a three-year prison sentence for same-sex intimacy. The new bill would also add a three-year prison term for people who:
- Participate in gender-reassignment surgery;
- Enter into a same-sex marriage; or
- Attend a same-sex wedding.
It would impose prison sentences of up to 10 years on people who “promote” LGBTQ activity.
The bill is widely opposed by human rights advocates, as well as by Peter Turkson, a cardinal of the Catholic Church in Ghana. Turkson has distanced himself from the bill because it would criminalize people for merely being gay rather than for any actions.
Ghana’s Human Rights Commission told Parliament that the bill would encroach on the fundamental human right of association.
