LONDON, March 12, 2007  –  A call for the repeal of laws in Ghana that criminalise same-sex relations has been made by gay human rights group Outrage! as the Ghanaian President, John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, arrived in London on a State visit.

The call comes in response to requests to the London-based group for help from Prince Kweku MacDonald, president of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana (GALAG), and from Mac-Darling Cobbinah executive/national director of the Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana.

Ghana’s continuing criminalisation of homosexuality is a relic of colonialism, Outrage! points out.

“This anti-gay law was imposed on the people of Ghana by the British colonial administration in the nineteenth century,” said Outrage! coordinator Peter Tatchell.

“It sets Ghanaian against Ghanaian, undermining national unity and dividing people against each other.”

In addition to the repeal of existing laws, Outrage! asks President Kufuor to enact new laws to protect LGBT people against discrimination; to include LGBT Ghanaians in the country’s HIV prevention programmes; to arrest and bring to trial the perpetrators of homophobic violence and protect the victims; and to open a dialogue with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana.

“All Ghanaians should enjoy independence and freedom,” Mr. Tatchell said.

And in a letter to the President, Mr. Tatchell and Kizza Musinguzi, the African affairs spokesperson at Outrage!, urge the President to support individual liberty and right of each person to live their own life and make their own choices, providing they do not harm others.

“A democratic state has no legitimate place in the bedroom, nor should it seek to dictate who people love,” they write.

“We urge you to follow in the footsteps of the African National Congress government of South Africa, which pioneered Africa’s commitment to the human rights of lesbian and gay people.

“The ANC embraced gay equality in 1987.  It later ensured that the post-apartheid constitution became the first in the world to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.  Since then, the ANC government has repealed the apartheid-era anti-gay laws.

“We note that the anti-apartheid heroes, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, are both strong supporters of lesbian and gay human rights.  They are demonstrating inspiring leadership, showing that freedom is for all Africans, not just heterosexual ones.

“We also appreciate that Kofi Annan, a great Ghanaian world statesman, defended LGBT human rights when he was United Nations General Secretary.  His extension of spousal benefits to the same-sex partners of UN employees signified a clear rejection of homophobic discrimination.”

President Kufuor is making his State visit to the United Kingdom  – the first by a Ghanaian Head of State – as Ghana celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its independence.

We join with you this month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ghana’s independence – the first sub-Saharan county in colonial Africa to gain independence.

“We join with you this month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ghana’s independence,” Outrage! told the President.

■  Profile of President Kufuor (BBC News, January 2001)