‘Amnesty Int’l Ghana Not Promoting LGBTQ+’

Executive Director of Amnesty International Ghana, Frank Doyi, speaking at the event.

Human rights protection organization, Amnesty International Ghana, has stated clearly that it does not promote or advocate for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQ+) practice.

According to the organization, its main focus is on the protection of the fundamental human rights of people and not the promotion of LGBTQ+ practice.

Executive Director of Amnesty International Ghana, Frank Doyi, addressing a quarterly press briefing in Accra said, “we would like to state clearly that Amnesty International Ghana does not promote or advocate for LGBTQ+. We clearly understand the difference between protection of human rights and promotion.”

He, however, noted that the human rights protection organization respects the position of members of government, selected media houses and individuals on the matter.

“As a human rights organization that works for the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms of all without distinction, we respect every one’s views and opinions,” he stressed.

Mr Doyi said Ghana has ratified many international and regional human rights treaties, including the international Covenant on Civil and political rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

He further stressed that the State has obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of everyone within its jurisdiction, without discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, social origin, political opinion or other prohibited grounds.

“These human rights include the right to life, the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to fair trial, the right to freedom of expression, including to freedom to seek, receive and impact information and ideas, and the right to adequate standard of living. Many of these rights are also recognized in Ghana’s Constitution,” he said.

He however mentioned that issues violence against women, death penalty, overcrowding in prisons and other places of detention, excessive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officers, assault and harassment of journalist and discrimination based on sexual orientation are still persistent in the Ghanaian society.

The organization therefore called on the government to ensure that all international human rights obligations are fully implemented in Ghana’s national legislation.

“Amnesty International calls on the government to take the necessary steps to ensure the prompt ratification, without reservation of the second optical protocol to the international covenant on civil and political right on the abolition of the death penalty and the optical protocol to the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Ensure Ghana complies with its reporting obligations under international and human rights treaties by presenting all overdue periodic reports to the relevant treaty monitoring bodies,” he added.