The Coalition of Muslim Organizations in Ghana (COMOG) has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Parliament to pass the Proper Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill into law.
According to the coalition of 29 Muslim groups, if the Bill is approved, it would put an end to Ghana’s ongoing LGBTQI issues.
At a press conference on Thursday, October 7, 2021, the coalition’s Spokesperson Prince Zakaria Moses said that the coalition would later submit a petition to Parliament on the issue.
He went on to say that the group is ready and prepared to go to any length to guarantee that the LGBTQI+ Bill gets approved.
“Our collective failure to pass the LGBTQI+ Bill of 2021 will plunge the Ghanaian population into yet another health and security threat through the activities of the LGBTQI+ community.”
“It is our considered view based on the foregoing arguments that LGBTQI+ activities are lifestyle choices and personal practices which cannot be equated as rights or accorded the status of right, and we fully endorse the LGBTQI+ Bill 2021 which is currently before Parliament and encourage the Parliament of Ghana and the President to swiftly pass and assent to the bill respectively.”
Similarly, several Christian leaders have filed to Parliament a memorandum on the Proper Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill.
The Church of Pentecost and its Chairman, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, as well as Apostle Dr. Aaron Ami-Narh, President of the Apostolic Church, Ghana, were among those who signed a petition expressing strong support for the bill.
On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, the memorandum was submitted to Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs.
Meanwhile, the Church of Pentecost has promised to wage a strong campaign against MPs if the Bill is not voted into law immediately.
The Church believes that Members of Parliament (MPs) have a moral obligation to pass legislation that benefit the majority of Ghanaians; therefore, the Proper Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, which has been introduced in Parliament, must be addressed with the urgency it deserves.
About the bill
About 20 members of Parliament have initiated processes to have a law passed to criminalise LGBTQ+ activities and advocacy and also jail LGBTQ+ people, their sympathizers, and funders.
The bill, dubbed “The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021,” has received wide public support, with a section of the public condemning it and describing it as promoting hate.
Read Also: UTAG backs down on resuming strike after agreement with government
