African lawmakers back push for tougher anti-LGBT laws after Ghana conference

ACCRA, June 19 - Lawmakers from more than a dozen African countries have pledged to push new bills restricting LGBT rights, after a conference in Ghana that brought together self-described "pro-family" activists from across Africa and Europe, participants said.

The African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty took place in Accra on June 3–6, a week after Ghana's parliament passed one of the continent's toughest anti-LGBT measures, a bill criminalising LGBT promotion.

The gathering reflects a broader shift toward more restrictive laws targeting LGBT people in parts of Africa that participants said was being encouraged by conservative figures in the United States and Europe, and has gained new momentum since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Some attendees said they saw an opportunity to promote their agendas under Trump, whose administration — unlike those of Barack Obama and Joe Biden — does not promote LGBT rights as part of its foreign policy.

"When you return to your respective capitals, let the resolutions we adopt here not gather dust in the archives of our secretariats. Let them be translated into active bills, robust budgetary allocations, and rigorous oversight," Ghana Parliament Speaker Alban Bagbin said in his opening remarks.

"Go home and tell your people that their representatives have resolved to protect the sanctuaries of their homes, the heritage of their ancestors, and the sovereignty of their nations."

More than half of Africa's 54 countries criminalise same-sex sexual acts. Several countries, including Uganda and Senegal, have recently gone a step further, adopting laws that criminalise LGBT "promotion" - something Ghana's lawmakers approved in late May.

WEST ACCUSED OF 'IDEOLOGICAL COLONISATION'

Organisers said lawmakers from 20 countries attended the conference held at Ghana's parliament. It was unclear how many intend to introduce new legislation based on the discussions.

Reuters spoke to five participants and reviewed more than 100 pages of presentations given at the conference. It could not determine the role of foreign activists in shaping the agenda, nor find evidence of foreign funding.

Sharon Slater, president of the U.S.-based conservative group Family Watch International, has attended previous editions of the conference in Uganda. She told Reuters she was invited this year but chose not to attend.

Speakers included Henk Jan van Schothorst, the Dutch executive director of the advocacy group Christian Council International. He urged African governments to resist pressure to ban so-called conversion therapy, which aims to make gay people straight.

"These policies are not only reserved for the Netherlands and for Europe. They are coming to Africa," he said of the bans, describing them as "ideological colonisation" by Western powers.

In another presentation, Kenyan doctor Wahome Ngare defined homosexual as "the young man sexually molested by the father" and transgender as "the young lady sexually molested by strangers."

The conference concluded with lawmakers approving an "African Charter on Family, Sovereignty and Values", drafted at earlier meetings in Uganda.

The 32-page document urges governments to withdraw from treaties or agreements — including at the United Nations and with foreign donors — seen as promoting "the LGBT agenda", abortion or sex education that is not abstinence-focused.

The charter also says signatories should work to enact national laws that "safeguard African culture and cultural values." Lawmakers from 18 of the 20 represented countries approved the charter.

'LET US FIRST THANK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE'

Health officials have highlighted the public health implications of anti-LGBT laws, which can push LGBT people into hiding, including men who have sex with men who face higher HIV prevalence than the general population.

Reuters reported in April that fewer HIV patients were visiting treatment centres in Senegal amid a wave of arrests coinciding with the debate over that country's new law.

For LGBT people in Ghana, the same debate has already heightened fear.

"I constantly self-censor, hide, watch my back. That's not safety, that's survival," said an African photographer and longtime resident of Accra. "So yes, leaving has crossed my mind. That breaks my heart because Ghana is my home."

Reuters reported in March that the "pro-family" U.S. group MassResistance had been in contact with activists in Ghana backing the bill, as well as Senegal's new law.

Ghana's bill is awaiting sign-off by President John Dramani Mahama, who has previously said he would sign such a measure into law but recently said there were procedural issues.

A coalition of more than 100 African civil society groups has urged Mahama to reject the bill, saying the government risked allowing "external actors with resources and reach to shape its domestic legislation."

The U.S. State Department has said Trump's approach to foreign assistance ensures taxpayer dollars are not "wasted on divisive social and gender issues."

At the Accra conference, Ugandan former lawmaker Sarah Opendi welcomed the shift. "Let us first thank the American people for voting for President Trump. The conversation in America today is different," she said. REUTERS