The European Parliament has expressed confidence that Ghana will uphold its human rights commitments and not pass into law the controversial bill on Promotion of Human Rights and Family Values Bill, widely known as the Anti-LGBT+ bill.
In a speech delivered by the Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President, Josep Borrell, highlighted the EU’s stance during a speech.
He emphasised Ghana’s dedication to human rights, which has come under scrutiny with the passage of the contentious bill in Ghana Parliament.
“The constitutionality of the Bill has been challenged and it is currently scrutinised by the Supreme Court. It is also to be noted that the Bill also still requires presidential assent to enter into force. The President has publicly reiterated his commitment to the respect of Human Rights and has expressed his concern about seeing a ‘backsliding‘ on human rights in the event of the adoption of the Bill.
“Senior members of the Ghanaian Government have also highlighted the Bill’s potential financial consequences and losses for the 2024 budget.
“We are, therefore, confident that Ghana will stand firm in the commitments it has made on national and international Human Rights,” he stated.
After years of the bill being in parliament, and having gone through several stages, amidst continuous backlash and attempts by anti-proponents of the bill to have it quashed, or at most, have portions of the bill revised, it was passed by parliament on February 28, 2024.
However, as concerns have been raised about the bill, the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is awaiting the Supreme Court ruling before he decides on assenting to the bill.
Explore the world of impactful news with CitiNewsroom on WhatsApp!
Click on the link to join the Citi Newsroom channel for curated, meaningful stories tailored just for YOU: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCYzPRAYlUPudDDe53x
No spams, just the stories that truly matter! #StayInformed #CitiNewsroom #CNRDigital
