Rightify Ghana

Ghana’s Parliament Passes Anti-LGBTQ Bill as Accra Prepares to Host Continental Anti-Rights Conference

The Parliament of Ghana has passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill, on Friday, May 29, 2026, following parliamentary proceedings in Accra. The bill now awaits the assent or otherwise by President John Dramani Mahama.

According to information emerging from Parliament, the bill underwent several amendments before being passed during proceedings that human rights defenders and civil society observers say were expedited and concluded unusually quickly.

The legislation now awaits the assent or otherwise of President John Dramani Mahama before it can become law.

Human rights defenders believe the accelerated passage of the bill was strategically timed to coincide with the upcoming 4th African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty scheduled to take place in Accra from June 3–6, 2026.

The conference — widely criticised by rights advocates as an anti-rights and anti-LGBTQ gathering — is expected to bring together lawmakers, religious leaders, legal actors, and conservative advocacy organisations from across Africa to promote the proposed Draft African Charter on Family, Sovereignty and Values.

Critics argue that both the conference and the legislation form part of a broader transnational movement targeting LGBTQI+ rights, women’s rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), civic space, and democratic participation across the continent.

The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill has drawn significant criticism from local and international human rights organisations, public health advocates, constitutional experts, and civil society groups over concerns that it threatens constitutional protections relating to equality, privacy, freedom of expression, association, and access to healthcare, while also increasing risks for LGBTQI+ persons, human rights defenders, journalists, and advocacy organisations in Ghana.