By Melanie Nathan, January 17, 2024.
African Human Rights Coalition @AfricanHRC - condemns the attack on a young student at the University of Ghana. A young man was stripped naked and assaulted at the University of Ghana, Legon, for allegedly being gay. This is hardly surprising considering the surge in anti LGBT rhetoric by politicians, the former Chief Justice, traditional leaders, and preachers, alike. These authorities and leaders are accountable for this violence. Criminalization as well as the rampant rhetoric (see here) license the violence we are seeing in Ghana at this time. At AHRC given the requests to help people flee the country, we are convinced it will get much worse, especially after the law is passed. While we hope the Bill is never passed, we ask any one tempted to lash out against LGBTI+, that regardless of one's beliefs, to note we hold them complicit and responsible for any ensuing violence in Ghana.
This heightened anti homosexuality environment comes on the heals of Parliament's promise to pass the new onerous anti gay bill that is going through the amendment phase. The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill at this stage seeks to punish with ten years in prison for simply identifying - "holding out" - as LGBTA, to include allies. The new amendments may reduce that time and may exclude "intersex". We await the final Bill for vote.
The University of Ghana @UnivofGh has condemned the assault on their Legon campus
They have assured that they will work with the police to conduct investigations into the matter and promised to ensure safety of all members of the university community as well as visitors to their campuses. However the disingenuous nature of their response via below press statement serves to doubt their ability or desire to do so despite their obligations!
Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) @AfricaEduWatch condemns violence at the University of Ghana, Legon campus; joins voices, including CSOs, who have released statements today to urge authorities to act
ACCORDING TO THE UNIVERSITY the young man was dressed as a woman. The evidence contradicts this as further elucidated by RIGHTIFY a Ghana based Human Rights advocacy organization that defends LGBT rights. What appears below is the University statement and then Rightify's statement condemning the response as an outrageous deflection from the truth of what occurred. What is also extremely concerning is that once the FAMILY VALUES BILL passes and becomes law, organization like Rightify will be criminalized and there will no longer be an opportunity to at least attempt to defend the human rights of Ghana's LGBTQI+ community.
Melanie Nathan, Executive Director of African Human Rights Coalition is a qualified country of origin expert witness in the United States and global immigration courts, providing expert written country conditions reports and testimony for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, non-binary, LGBTQI + asylum seekers from 20 African Countries, to include activists, allies and human rights defenders. Melanie also consults multinational corporations regarding briefings and policy for operations and issue impacted by anti-homosexuality laws and country conditions. Nathan@AfricanHRC.org
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