D.C. is the place for the Democratic Socialists of America

Ghana’s mission to have the United Nations recognize The human trafficking and racialized chattel enslavement of enslaved Africans as the most serious crimes against humanity are historical milestones. This resolution, adopted on March 25, 2026 with the support of 123 out of approximately 180 countries, is a major step towards global recognition of the brutality and inhumanity of slavery. Equal Justice Initiative 2022 Report; “Transatlantic Slave Trade” It emphasizes that during the slave trade, enslaved Africans had no rights, freedom, recognition, or protection under the law. They had no voice, no bodily autonomy, no respected identity, and could be brutally violated without legal protection. This history represents a grave crime against humanity.

In my opinion, Ghana and other countries that voted yes are absolutely right to say that such a historical event cannot be sanitized or reduced to diplomatic language. Acknowledgment is the first step towards fulfilling your responsibilities. This issue is important because it is perhaps the basis of modern-day injustices and inequalities that people experience, such as wealth inequality, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia.

double standards

However, despite this important step on the world stage, Ghana’s commitment to human rights appears inconsistent. The same governments that advocate justice for enslaved Africans are today enacting laws that jeopardize the rights of Africans. This contradiction between Ghana’s international position and domestic policy is at the heart of the debate.

In February 2026, the Ghanaian Parliament officially Bill on Human Sexual Rights and Family Values. This bill poses a serious threat to the right to non-discrimination, the protection of the law, privacy, freedom of association, assembly, and expression. It expands the criminalization of LGBTQ+ people and everyone associated with them. The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values ​​Bill calls for three years in prison for people who identify as LGBTQ+, receive gender-affirming treatment, enter into a same-sex marriage, attend a same-sex wedding, and promote equal rights for LGBTQ+ people. This turns policing into a social obligation rather than just a state function, encouraging people to report anyone who looks suspicious or foreign. This socially justifies brutal attacks on LGBTQ+ people and leaves Ghanaians with blood on their hands.

Ghana’s proposed and reintroduced anti-LGBTQ+ bill is said to be one of the most restrictive in the world and will lead to inhumane treatment of LGBTQ+ people. The bill not only further criminalizes consensual same-sex relationships, but also targets civil society organizations seen as supporting equal rights for LGBTQ+ people. Therefore, if this law is passed, it will be illegal to support equal rights and challenge the inhumane treatment of queer Ghanaians and their allies. Isn’t this a double standard? Ghana seeks justice for the mistreatment of Africans in the Atlantic slave trade, but is actively seeking to harm its own people.

This is not a theoretical harm. That is real harm. According to Human Rights Watch, LGBTQ+ people in Ghana already face systemic prejudice, discrimination, harassment, and violence driven by both the legal framework and social prejudice, resulting in a hostile atmosphere.

Ghana has not come close to protecting human rights at home.

Ghana argues on the world stage that the dehumanization of Africans through slavery is so severe that it constitutes the most serious violation of human dignity. This argument is based on the core principle that reducing a human being to something less than fully human is unacceptable under any circumstances.

Back home, states have approved laws that do exactly the same thing for LGBTQ+ people. The criminalization of identity, the suppression of expression, the constriction of civic space, the surveillance and surveillance of citizens, and the assertion of social exclusion. These are elements of dehumanization and indicate that some people are unworthy of protection, dignity, respect, and justice. That is the definition of a double standard.

Supporters of these laws often frame homosexuality as un-African, but this argument does not hold up under scrutiny. In his article: “‘deviant’ African gender condemned by colonialism”Mohamed Elnayem emphasizes that historical and anthropological evidence shows that diverse sexualities and gender expressions existed across African societies long before colonial rule. Ironically, many of the laws used to criminalize LGBTQ+ people today date directly back to colonial times. This is also supported by the African Court of Justice, which in December 2020 said: advisory opinion, made It is clear that these colonial-era laws are discriminatory and perpetuate marginalization. The African Court also called on African states to take action in this regard.

It is a well-known fact that anti-rights activists are active. operating It supports leaders who promote anti-rights policies in Ghana. They are becoming increasingly organized, visible, well-funded, and influential in shaping national policy. future Fourth African Interparliamentary Conference on Family and Sovereigntyan event scheduled to take place in Accra from May 27 to 30, 2026, is a clear example of this alignment. The conference supports the highly controversial so-called African Charter on Family Values, which casts LGBTQ+ people as a threat to children and queer identities as a foreign ideology. The platform has been used to legitimize and promote anti-LGBTIQ+ laws, limit comprehensive sex education, and roll back sexual and reproductive health rights. In this context, the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in Ghana cannot be seen as an isolated policy choice, but as part of a broader coordinated anti-rights agenda that normalizes and legitimizes discrimination. It further accelerates the dehumanization of queer communities and civil society. In one fell swoop, Ghana rejects colonial-era injustices while simultaneously enforcing colonial-era moral laws.

There are also notable legal contradictions. Ghana’s unique constitution It guarantees the right to life, protection from violence, the right to personal liberty, the right to human dignity, equality and freedom from discrimination, and the right to a fair trial. However, in reality, these rights do not apply equally to LGBTQ+ individuals. Depriving LGBTQ+ people of equal rights is what slave owners did to their slaves.

Selective applications cannot build a credible human rights position

To be clear, pointing out this contradiction does not diminish the recognition of slavery as a crime against humanity. Both truths can coexist. While the UN resolution is a victory, Ghana’s domestic policies remain deeply challenged. Indeed, if the term human rights is to have any meaning, it is necessary to bring together both realities. Ghana has taken a strong position on the world stage. The question is whether we are willing to apply the same moral clarity at home.

Bradley Fortuin is Southern African Litigation Center and human rights activist.