The Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Joseph Akanjolenur Whittal, has raised concerns about the intentions behind the introduction and passage of the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill by legislators.
He questions what legislators hope to achieve, stating that in a world rapidly becoming a global village, enacting laws solely based on culture and tradition could be seen as regressive.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on February 29, he said, “This thing that we are joking with if we don’t take time, it will boomerang in our face and the signals are coming. So, is it worth the so-called values that we are thinking of in a globalised world?”
On Wednesday, February 28, Parliament passed a controversial bill criminalizing what its supporters describe as deviant behavior and its promotion, after three years of deliberation.
This development has sparked fear among the LGBTQ+ community, as it puts their lives at risk. However, Mr. Whittal has reassured them that their safety is assured as long as the bill remains unsigned by the President, urging them to remain calm.
The bill stipulates a prison sentence of up to three years for individuals convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+. It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for those involved in forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups.
Despite efforts by some MPs to replace prison sentences with community service and counseling, these attempts were frustrated.
The Commissioner has made a heartfelt appeal to the President not to approve the bill, especially given his background in human rights.
“This bill is not a law, so it cannot be used against anybody. There are still processes to make it a law. That is why I am raising the challenge to the presidency to consider whether he shouldn’t exercise his right of rejection on the basis of constitutionality aired against human rights. If it makes it through him, and if he also assents, I know there is a bunch of people who are ready to challenge the constitutionality of this bill before the Supreme Court.”
“It is early days yet. I will advice them, they should hold on. While all these things are working out, I have confidence that somewhere along the line something will shift.
“We cannot just use the principle of our cultural values and throw all of us under the bus. We need to be very careful as a people,” he added.
On the same show, the lead sponsor of the bill, Sam George, responded to Commissioner Whittal’s comments, disagreeing with his views.
Sam George argued that the Commissioner’s job exists because of the Ghanaian constitution and that it is misguided for him to speak as if he were employed by an international institution.
The Ningo Prampram MP further contended that Commissioner Whittal’s stance indicates he would be unsuitable to preside over any LGBTQ+ cases brought to his office.
“When he speaks in a manner that is even prejudicial before a matter will come to him, it will not be fit for him to sit on any matter involving this bill.”
“His position on this bill from presenting memoranda against the bill all the way to public advocacy against the bill makes him unfit to sit as a Commissioner of CHRAJ on any petition that will come there because he already has a prejudiced position. His argument on human rights on this network is that some international human rights person said that sexual preference is a human right.
“He did not state what law that person used and whether that law takes precedence over the constitution that created CHRAJ, that gave him a job,” he added.