The Minority Caucus has condemned government\u2019s decision to abstain from a crucial vote on LGBTQ issues at the United Nations Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n
The NPP MPs described the move as a betrayal of Ghanaian values and a worrying sign of indifference.<\/p>\n
Ranking Member on Parliament\u2019s Foreign Affairs Committee and Damongo MP, Samuel Abu Jinapor, issued the criticism in a press statement, warning that \u201cabstention is complicity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Jinapor said the abstention, which occurred during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, amounted to tacit support for the controversial mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IE SOGI).<\/p>\n
He argued that by choosing not to vote, Ghana lost an opportunity to affirm its position on LGBTQ issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cGhana returned to the Human Rights Council in January 2024, and had the opportunity at this 59th Session of the Council to make a statement in respect of her position on LGBTQ, through the vote on the resolution to extend the mandate of the IE SOGI, but again, chose to abstain,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
He criticised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs\u2019 explanation that the vote was only about protecting people from violence and discrimination.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that \u2018the question before the Council was whether persons who identify as LGBTQI should be protected against violence and discrimination or not\u2019 is totally false,\u201d Jinapor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question before the Council was whether to extend the mandate of the IE SOGI\u2026 which invariably includes the promotion of LGBTQ.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed out that many African countries voted against the resolution, not because they condone violence, but because they oppose the underlying agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt cannot be the case that the several countries that have consistently voted against the mandate support violence or discrimination against the LGBTQ community; they oppose LGBTQ simpliciter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jinapor reminded Ghanaians that the same mandate Ghana failed to oppose seeks to eliminate laws that protect Ghanaian cultural values.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his 17th April, 2025 Report presented to the Human Rights Council, for instance, IE SOGI urges that \u2018States should end the practices of de jure and de facto criminalisation\u2019 of LGBTQ.\u201d<\/p>\n
He challenged the Government\u2019s justification that Chapter Five of the Constitution constrained its position.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt cannot, also, be correct that Ghana abstained from the vote because of Chapter Five of the Constitution. Nothing in article 17 of the Constitution cited by the Ministry supports individual choice of sexual orientation or gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Ghana\u2019s abstention showed the Government\u2019s \u201cindifference to proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values,\u201d and cited the failure to pass the Anti-Gay Bill as further proof.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government\u2019s failure to lay the Anti-Gay Bill in Parliament for it to be passed into law, and its consistent abstinence from votes relating to LGBTQ is a clear manifestation of its double standards on LGBTQ issues and the promotion of Ghanaian family values.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Jinapor stressed that Ghana\u2019s criminal code already prohibits certain LGBTQ practices and said the Government must reflect those laws in its international stance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is, therefore, disappointing that on two separate occasions, this very Government has failed to join other like-minded countries to project these Ghanaian values and norms at the international level.\u201d<\/p>\n
He concluded that while the Minority does not support violence against any individual, including those who identify as LGBTQ, they remain committed to defending Ghana\u2019s cultural identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain committed to upholding the integrity of our nation and defending her norms, values and practices, both home and abroad, and urge the general public to join us on this noble cause for people and country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Minority Caucus has condemned government\u2019s decision to abstain from a crucial vote on LGBTQ issues at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The NPP MPs described the move as a betrayal of Ghanaian values and a worrying sign of indifference. Ranking Member on Parliament\u2019s Foreign Affairs Committee and Damongo MP, Samuel Abu Jinapor, issued […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123457,"featured_media":11617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1142,3680],"class_list":["post-11616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","tag-lgbtq","tag-minority-caucus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/123457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11616"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11618,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11616\/revisions\/11618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}