Parliament have been asked to halt their consideration of the anti-gay bill by Amnesty International, a non-governmental organization.

The organization claims that if the bill is approved, it will violate human rights.

Officially titled the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, the anti-gay bill is a proposed law that has caused a great deal of controversy both domestically and internationally.

The bill aims to make same-sex relationships—oral and anal—criminal, with prison terms of five to ten years.

Additionally, it will make it illegal to support LGBTQ+ people, encourage same-sex unions or cohabitation, or advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.

The bill also suggests punishing people or groups who plan or take part in LGBTQ+ events, offer resources to assist LGBTQ+ individuals, or create or disseminate content that supports LGBTQ+ rights.

“The Ghanaian Parliament and the government should immediately withdraw the proposed Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 from consideration,” Amnesty International stated in a statement released on Wednesday.

“This Bill gravely contravenes the principles of equality and non-discrimination, the rights to freedom of expression, association and privacy, and the prohibition of torture enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and international human rights treaties ratified by the country. More specifically, it denies LGBTI persons their inviolable human dignity, guaranteed to all persons under section 15 of the country’s Constitution.”

Furthermore, according to Amnesty International, the bill supported persecution of individuals based on their actual or perceived gender identity and sexual orientation simply because they were unable or refused to comply with prevailing societal and gender norms. It also fostered hatred and intolerance.

“If passed into law, it intends to impose restrictions and criminal penalties against a range of people, including LGBTI people and anyone who expresses support or sympathy towards LGBTI people. It also places a positive obligation on everyone in Ghana to report any conduct perceived to be of an ‘LGBTI nature’ to the police, or to a list of people in the community in the absence of the police,” it added.

The NGO reiterated that the proposed law would subject anyone who engages in or participates in “an activity that promotes, supports sympathy for, or a change of public opinion towards an act prohibited under the Bill” to a maximum of ten years in prison and five years in prison for being LGBTI.

“This vague and overbroad provision potentially places anyone in Ghana at risk of being accused under the Bill, and creates an environment of hostility, discrimination, and active stigmatizing of people who are LGBTI or perceived to be such; or anyone linked to them socially, through family, professionally, or otherwise,” it added.