ACCRA — Ghana's parliament approved the Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which criminalizes homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities. The bill now awaits ratification by President John Dramani Mahama before it can become law.

The legislation proposes up to three years' imprisonment for identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. It also imposes penalties of between three and five years for those found promoting, sponsoring, or intentionally supporting LGBTQ+ activities. Anyone who identifies as an 'ally' of LGBTQ+ people could face a prison sentence under the bill. Additionally, the measure introduces a 'duty to report' prohibited LGBTQ+ acts to police.

Exemptions were included for legal, media, and healthcare professionals who report on LGBTQ+ issues or provide medical treatment or other services for gay people. Same-sex relationships have been banned in Ghana under laws dating from the British colonial era. Ghana passed a similar bill in 2024, but it did not become law after former President Akufo-Addo failed to sign it due to legal challenges. President John Dramani Mahama has indicated he would support the bill's passage, saying shortly after he took office that 'I believe in the principles and values that only two genders exist – man and woman – and that marriage is between a man and a woman.' Religious leaders have pressured Mahama to strengthen anti-gay laws since he came to power last year.

Reverend John Ntim Fordjour said the bill would protect Ghanaian family and cultural values. He added that the new bans would make existing laws 'more robust, more encompassing and more stringent in dealing with the practices of LGBTQI'.

Human Rights Watch recommended the bill be abandoned in a formal submission to the constitutional and legal affairs committee scrutinizing the legislation in Accra. The organization said the bill placed LGBTQ+ peoples' lives at risk while also 'encouraging citizens to surveil and denounce one another'.