National Peace Council has no position on anti-LGBTQ+ bill – Dr Adu-Gyamfi
The National Peace Council says it will continue to remain neutral on the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill also known as the anti-LGBTQ bill.
In a television interview in reaction to the controversy surrounding the passage of the bill by Parliament last week, the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev. Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi said the council has no position because it was a mediating body.
He said many stakeholders had approached the council to pick a side on the issue.
But Dr Adu-Gyamfi stressed that the organisation was a mediator and as such it was important for them to remain impartial in such matters.
He was speaking to TV3 on Sunday.
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2021 was passed on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, after about three years of deliberations.
If assented to by the president, It will criminalise all activities related to engaging and promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy, and funding in Ghana.
It has a minimum of a three-year jail sentence and a maximum of five years for any person convicted under this law.
Many human rights advocates including the United States government have criticised the passage of the bill, arguing that it would endanger the lives of LGBTQ persons, tarnish the image of Ghana on the international stage and adversely affect investments.
Rev. Adu-Gyamfi reiterated that the council’s impartial position enables it to effectively mediate any potential conflict, which could arise if the Bill becomes law after the president’s assent.
“We don’t have a position on the passage of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill because we are mediators, we don’t take sides on issues like this. There are several issues that have come to us that people expected us to take sides, but realised it was important to remain neutral when they later came for conflict resolution.”
“We are waiting to see how things will unfold, so we know whether to mediate or intervene in the event of a conflict,” he added.