Human rights organisation Rightify Ghana has sounded the alarm over what it describes as an exclusionary and undemocratic public hearing process surrounding the country’s discriminatory “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025” — widely known as the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Thursday, the organisation accused Ghana’s Parliament of sidelining civil society voices, human rights advocates and affected communities during consultations on a bill that could have sweeping consequences for LGBTQ+ people and broader democratic freedoms in the country.
The concerns come after Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin announced that the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs had concluded stakeholder hearings on the bill and had been instructed to urgently submit its report for parliamentary consideration and possible passage.
Civil Society Voices “Excluded” from Hearings
Rightify Ghana said the process lacked transparency, inclusivity and fairness, despite the serious constitutional and human rights implications of the proposed legislation.
It confirmed that it submitted both a detailed memorandum and proposed amendments to the bill, but received no invitation to appear before lawmakers.
“Many civil society organisations, human rights groups, professional bodies, advocates, and affected individuals who submitted written memoranda and detailed proposed amendment documents were neither acknowledged nor invited to participate in oral hearings before the committee,” stated Ebenezer Peegah, Executive Director of Rightify Ghana.
Critics Say Process Favoured Bill Sponsors
The organisation also raised concerns that the hearings disproportionately amplified the voices of the bill’s sponsors, including MPs Samuel Nartey George and John Ntim Fordjour, while limiting or excluding opposing perspectives.
Reports from some attendees allegedly indicated that several invited participants were not given meaningful opportunities to speak during proceedings.
Rightify Ghana argued that the current process appeared to treat public consultation as “a procedural formality rather than a genuine effort to solicit broad-based stakeholder input”.
At one of the recent hearings, bill sponsor and MP Sam George criticised international donors such as The Global Fund, which supports the Ghana AIDS Commission’s HIV response, as “promoting homosexuality” through its distribution of condoms and lubricant.
Calls for Transparency and Inclusive Democracy
Rightify Ghana has called on Parliament and the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Committee to publicly disclose all organisations and individuals that submitted memoranda, explain how participants were selected for hearings, and reopen opportunities for excluded stakeholders to contribute before the bill advances further.
“A democratic Parliament must not only hear voices that support legislation, but must also protect space for dissenting opinions, minority perspectives, and independent civil society participation,” Peegah said.
Peegah added: “The credibility and legitimacy of Ghana’s legislative process depends on it.”
A Draconian Anti-LGBTQ Bill
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill has become one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in Ghana in recent years, drawing condemnation from local activists, regional human rights defenders and international organisations.
If signed into law, the bill would criminalise identifying as LGBTQ+ or as an ally. It would also target same-sex intimacy and gender-affirming medical services, with penalties of up to three years in prison and fines.
The dissemination or publication of materials that advocate for the equality or affirmation of LGBTQ+ people would carry prison sentences of between five and ten years. The bill would also disband organisations that support LGBTQ+ rights and ban adoption by LGBTQ+ individuals.
