The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed claims that Ghana abstained from a vote supporting LGBTQI rights at the 59th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC59).
Public discourse on social and traditional media has been rife with criticism, with many accusing government of abandoning its firm stance against LGBTQI activities.
Critics claimed Ghana avoided a yes or no vote on a resolution perceived as backing LGBTQI rights.
But in a statement issued on Wednesday, July 9, the Ministry clarified that there was no such vote on LGBTQI support as widely speculated.
“The question before the Council was whether persons who identify as LGBTQI should be protected against violence and discrimination or not. It was not about support for LGBTQI rights.
“Ghana abstained in the vote, to be consistent with Chapter 5, Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution, which specifically prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, or social and economic status,” the statement read.
It further stressed that Ghana’s Permanent Representative at the Session reaffirmed the country’s position on gender identity, recognizing only the male and female genders.
“Our understanding of the traditional definition of gender is the male sex or female sex, especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences. Similarly, sex in our view refers to either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided and used for statistical purposes and policy monitoring,” the Ministry quoted the envoy as saying.
