Ghana's parliament on Friday approved a new bill that criminalizes the promotion of LGBTQ activity in the country. The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, was passed by a voice vote after the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee unanimously recommended its adoption, according to first deputy speaker Bernard Ahiafor.
The bill was introduced last year shortly after President John Dramani Mahama took office. Lawmakers from Mahama's political party, the National Democratic Congress, had been urged by religious leaders and other supporters of the bill to vote on it, and Mahama will now face pressure to sign.
The bill passed an earlier version in 2024, under Mahama's predecessor, President Nana Akufo-Addo, but it faced legal challenges and Akufo-Addo never signed it into law. The bill approved on Friday maintains the existing penalty of up to three years in prison for same-sex sexual acts.
It also bans "funding, sponsorship or promotion" of LGBTQ acts, with prison terms ranging from three to five years. Additionally, it introduces a "duty to report" prohibited LGBTQ acts to a police officer or other authorities, with violators facing up to three years behind bars. The bill further amends Ghana's Extradition Act of 1960 to make offences under the new law extraditable offences.
