By Melanie Nathan. Dec 17, 2024
If fully enacted, this will be an actual problem for Americans especially in a Trump Era, as my personal example will show.
On February 28, 2024 the Ghanaian Parliament passed a new anti-LGBTQ+ law which has not been signed into law yet by President Nana Akufo-Addo, having stalled his assent pending the two constitutional challenges currently before the Ghanaian Supreme Court, set for a ruling tomorrow.
President Elect John Mahama, has promised to sign the new legislation, titled The Proper Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill of 2024, into law should the law or any part of it, be upheld.
This highly controversial law is fraught with controversy, and if fully enacted will create enormous problems for all Ghanaians, not just the LGBTQAP+ people which the Bill targets. The country will suffer an irreparable ding to its once admired democracy, huge economic and AID impacts, as well as the obliteration of very basic freedoms. The global impact such as tourism and diplomacy will change the landscape of the country in a way it has not seen before. Yet. its proponents hve pushed on citing their sovereignty and the mythological belief that the west is importing homosexuality to Africa and that any non binary form of sexual orientation or gender identity is Un-African. The new law is underpinned in its genesis and development by Colonial era anti homosexuality penal codes and direct American Evangelical anti gay hate preaching.
The most onerous clause in the ACT, is the one that says you can go to jail if you merely identify as LGBTQAP+, which includes allies, the latter holding hand with another section, barely spoken of, yet extremely onerous, Section 20, the Extradition Clause. This Section seeks to amend Ghana’s Extradition Act of 1960 (Act 22).
The Amendment would classify LGBTQ+ people, allies and related acts as “fugitive criminals.” In the same vein as murderers, rapists, bank robbers and more. This means anyone engaged in LGBTQAP+ activities who are merely deemed to have committed offenses would be subject to extradition to Ghana. Under such extradition law, Ghana could potentially request the extradition of individuals from countries with which it has extradition treaties. The treaty with the US, for example, was extended from its initiating UK treaty which covered Commonwealth countries.
All said and done this Section and its impact, if allowed to stand will be a nightmare for Ghana’s LGBT community, its allies and even foreigners, creating a Diplomatic horror for the US and Ghana, as well as for the many other countries which have bilateral agreements with Ghana.
This new law will also impact foreign nationals, including LGBTQ+ individuals, advocates and allies supporting the LGBTQ+ community in Ghana. All could face legal actions under the Act. Actions such as identifying as LGBTQ+ posting pro-LGBTQI content on social media, engaging with LGBTQ+ organizations or activists in Ghana and could trigger potential extradition requests from Ghana to countries like the USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia, India, and Canada.
Let us hope the Ghanian Court rules against the entire ACT and that it sees the clauses such as Section 20 are a disaster for Ghana.
By Melanie Nathan