MEMBERS OF the Christian community have called for further education and engagement on provisions of the Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2024 which is currently awaiting presidential assent, to prevent unnecessary infringement of human rights when passed into law.
The clergymen, including leaders of faith-based organisations, expressed sentiment after having firsthand knowledge on the provisions of the Anti-LGBTQ Bill during an engagement with fellows of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), to acquaint them with the provisions of the bill in the Bono East Region.
According to the CDD, the engagement is part of a nationwide sensitisation workshop being carried out by the Human Rights think tank to educate stakeholders including the clergy, traditional authorities, the police, media men, security agents among others on the implication of signing the bill into law at its current form.
The CDD said support for the bill mostly by religious groups including Christian community, Islamic community and traditional leaders is born out of lack of understanding of effects of the bill on other groups, not just LGBTQ+ community when passed into law.
“Akuffo-Addo not signing the bill doesn’t mean he likes what the gay people do. Democracy is for majority but it is also for the protection of minority rights,” a senior programme officer of the CDD, Michael Augustus Akagbor said.
“It is surprising to note that pastors and their followers have a position on the bill yet they have not read it to understand how it will affect their own activities in the church.
“It is, therefore, necessary for the CDD which champions democracy and human rights issues to take the church (the clergy) through provisions of the bill clause by clause to enable clergy draw their own conclusion,” he noted.
The engagement brought various church leaders pastors, deacons and members together from the Bono East Region including Evangelical Church of Ghana, the Anglican Church, the Agape Anglican Church, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Christ Revelation Ministry and Zion International Ministry Church and many others.
They deliberated on topics including LGBTQ+ rights concerns from religious and faith-based organisations leaders, religion, secularism & democratic rights, human rights, the Constitution and Ghana’s international obligation to promote, protect and fulfill the human rights of all persons.
FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Techiman