Ghana’s parliament has passed the deeply controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill, the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill. The vote was swift, the outcome never truly in doubt. This is a body blow to the Commonwealth’s already frayed human rights framework. Expect immediate diplomatic fallout.
Westminster sources are already briefing down the wire. Quiet fury. Frustration. The Foreign Office will issue a statement. It will be careful. It will deplore the erosion of rights. But it will not name Ghana. It will not name the bill. That is the game.
The bill itself is a piece of legislative savagery. It criminalises not just same-sex acts but any form of advocacy or support. Prison sentences of up to ten years. It makes it a crime to ‘promote’ LGBTQ+ rights. Silence is the only safe option. This is state-sponsored persecution, dressed up as family values.
Opposition MPs in the House of Commons are already mobilising. There will be an early day motion. It will attract signatures. It will achieve nothing. The government will point to its aid programme, its quiet diplomacy. But the reality is stark. Ghana is a key partner in West Africa. Trade. Security. Migration. The calculus is brutal.
Inside the Conservative Party, the reaction is split. The usual suspects will applaud ‘sovereignty’ and ‘cultural values’. The One Nation wing will wring its hands. But the whips will be out. No splitting the vote. No criticising a Commonwealth ally.
The bill now goes to the President, Nana Akufo-Addo. He has indicated he will sign it. He has been under immense pressure from religious leaders, from the traditional authorities. He cannot be seen to defy the will of parliament. That would be political suicide ahead of the 2024 election.
What happens next? The Commonwealth will face its most serious test since the CHOGM in Kigali. The charter of the Commonwealth explicitly references human rights. It is not just a talking shop. But it is also not a court. Suspension is possible. It requires consensus. It will not happen.
The UK, for its part, will not break ties. There is too much at stake. The trade relationship is worth billions. The intelligence sharing is crucial. The diplomatic network in West Africa relies on Accra. Realpolitik will triumph over principle.
For the lobby, this is a grim morning. We have been here before. Uganda. Nigeria. Now Ghana. The tide is turning. The West is losing the argument on human rights in Africa. It is being framed as a colonial imposition. As a Western decadence. And the hard men in power are winning.
The real story here is not the bill itself. It is the failure of liberal internationalism. Of the rules-based order. The Commonwealth was supposed to be a force for good. It has become a forum for defence of tyranny. Watch the cables. Watch the carefully choreographed outrage. And watch the business continue as usual.
