President speaks on LGBTQ+ Bill - Says institutions will determine human right compliance

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured the international community that Ghana will not turn her back on her enviable, longstanding record on human rights observance and attachment to the rule of law.

"I want to assure you that no such backsliding will be contemplated or occasioned.

I think it will serve little purpose to go, at this stage, into the details of the origin of this proposed law, which is yet to reach my desk," he added.

President Akufo-Addo said this in reaction to last week's bi-partisan passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill by Parliament on a Private Member's motion.

He gave an assurance that "the operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian state would determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in our country".

He was speaking at this year's New Year Greetings Diplomatic Reception at the Peduase Presidential Retreat in the Eastern Region.

In attendance were high commissioners, ambassadors and heads of other international organisations such as the World Bank and the UN.

President Akufo-Addo said he was aware the Bill had "raised considerable anxieties in certain quarters of the diplomatic community and among some friends of Ghana that she might be turning her back on her hitherto enviable, longstanding record on human rights observance and attachment to the rule of law".

Supreme Court

The President said he had learnt that a challenge had been mounted at the Supreme Court by a concerned citizen to the constitutionality of the proposed legislation.

"In the circumstances, it would be, as well, for all of us to hold our hands, and await the decision of the court before any action is taken," he added.

He assured the international community that the operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian state would determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in our country.

Background

Immediately after the passage of the Bill, some Ghanaians urged President Akufo-Addo to assent to it without delay, while others expressed the belief that the Bill in its current state would jeopardise Ghana's human rights record, freedom of speech and liberties.

For instance, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo, a university don and a board member of civil society institution, CDD-Ghana, had said the organisation would fight the Bill at the Supreme Court.

The US State Department and its ambassador in Ghana also expressed concern about the Bill.

The Ministry of Finance of Ghana has issued a statement, calling on President Akufo-Addo not to sign the Bill until the court case was cleared because it could lead to Ghana losing billions of dollars from foreign financial support sources.

Election 2024

President Akufo-Addo said as Ghanaians prepared to go to the polls to elect a new President and a new Parliament this year, his government was clear about its obligation and duty.

He said they included ensuring that the coming elections were conducted in an atmosphere of peace and security, in full transparency and respect for the electoral laws of our country.

"I am confident that the security agencies will be alive to their responsibilities, and will ensure that the freewill of the Ghanaian people, in their choice of national leadership, will be manifested," he said.

He stressed that Ghanaians cherished their reputation as a beacon of democracy on the African continent, and the forthcoming elections would reinforce this reputation.

Record

"I want to state, in conclusion, that in all modesty, I am exceedingly proud of my record in office, and the considerable achievements that have been recorded in all sectors of national life these last seven years, several of which have been very difficult as a result of global developments," he said.

He said the record included the management of the national economy, education, health care, roads, railways, digitalisation, infrastructural development, agricultural and industrial transformation, the protection of Ghana's territorial integrity and security, the fight against corruption, the battle against environmental degradation, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Others, he added, were the entrenching of the tenets of good governance and the rule of law, contributing to the attainment of regional and continental integration and unity, being at the forefront of the growing demand for the reform of global governance institutions, or in upholding respect for international law and multilateralism.

"I believe it is one which, in all humility, is, at the least, the equal of any in the history of the Fourth Republic. I can say, in all good conscience, that I have not betrayed the mandates the good people of Ghana conferred on me.

“All these have been done, in part, due to the support I have received from all of you, and your respective governments and organisations, to you and to whom I express my sincere gratitude”.

President Akufo-Addo urged the international community to continue with the same level of co-operation with his successor.