Minister Slams NPP MP Over Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill Delays, Defends Mahama’s Plan After UN Vote Abstention

Описание: Accra, July 9, 2025 – The Minister for Government Communications, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, has hit back at critics of Ghana’s abstention in a United Nations Human Rights Council vote on July 7, 2025, to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (A/HRC/59/L.2). In an interview with Asempa FM on July 7, 2025, Kwakye defended the Mahama administration’s commitment to the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill,” accusing the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of failing to advance the legislation during its eight-year tenure.

“What the NPP couldn’t do in eight years, they now expect us to do in six months,” Kwakye stated, addressing criticisms from MPs like Okaikwei Central’s Patrick Boamah, who called the UN vote abstention “shocking,” and Assin South’s Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, who labeled it “cowardly.” Kwakye emphasized that President John Dramani Mahama is “putting measures in place for the bill to be passed as a government bill,” signaling the administration’s intent to take ownership of the controversial legislation.

The anti-LGBTQ+ bill, reintroduced in February 2025 by Rev. Ntim Fordjour and nine other MPs, seeks to criminalize same-sex relationships, advocacy, and related activities. It follows a similar bill passed in 2024 that lapsed after former President Nana Akufo-Addo declined to assent due to legal challenges. Kwakye directly called out Ntim Fordjour, a member of the Akufo-Addo government, for not pressuring the former president to sign the bill into law. “If Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had assented to the bill, there wouldn’t still be the need for a bill to be reintroduced,” he said, accusing the NPP of supporting legal challenges that created significant barriers to the bill’s progress.

The minister’s remarks come amid heightened tensions following Ghana’s abstention in the UN vote, which passed with 29 votes in favor, 15 against, and Ghana among three abstaining nations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the decision in a July 9 press release, stating it aligns with Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and its binary definition of gender, clarifying that the vote was about protection from violence and discrimination, not endorsing LGBTQ+ rights.

Critics, including Boamah and Ntim Fordjour, have expressed frustration, with the latter issuing a one-week ultimatum on July 9 to name individuals allegedly influenced by the Jubilee House to delay the bill’s gazetting, which he claims has been stalled despite Speaker approval four months ago. The bill, backed by a 2023 survey showing 86% public support, faces international criticism and warnings of economic repercussions, including the potential loss of $3.8 billion in World Bank funding.

Kwakye’s defense underscores the Mahama administration’s efforts to navigate domestic expectations and international pressures while advancing the anti-LGBTQ+ bill as a government-backed initiative. The minister’s accusations against the NPP shift the focus to the previous administration’s inaction, intensifying the political debate as the bill’s future hangs in the balance.