Full Breakdown
African Lawmakers Push for Stricter Anti-LGBT Laws After Ghana Conference
6/19/2026, 10:57:43 PM
Core Event in Accra
From June 3-6, 2026, lawmakers from more than a dozen African nations met in Accra’s parliament for African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty. The meeting followed Ghana’s late-May passage of a law criminalising LGBT promotion, one of the strictest on the continent. Delegates approved a 32-page African Charter urging withdrawal from treaties that promote LGBT rights, abortion or non-abstinence sex education, and calling for national laws to “safeguard African culture.” Lawmakers from 18 of 20 countries endorsed the charter.
Key Figures and Groups
Speakers included Ghanaian Parliament Speaker Alban Bagbin, Christian Council International director Henk Jan van Schothorst, doctor Wahome Ngare, and Ugandan MP Sarah Opendi. Family Watch International was invited but did not attend, while “pro-family” group MassResistance contacted Ghanaian activists. Organisers framed gathering as response to Western “ideological colonisation,” noting Trump administration no longer ties foreign aid to LGBT rights.
Legislative Landscape and Official Responses
Over half of Africa’s 54 states criminalise same-sex acts; Ghana’s pending bill awaits President John Dramani Mahama’s signature after procedural concerns. Speaker Bagbin urged legislators to avoid “dusty” resolutions, calling for active bills, budget allocations, and oversight. U.S. State Department said Trump administration ensures taxpayer dollars are not “wasted on divisive social and gender issues.” Charter calls for withdrawal from agreements that promote LGBT agendas.
Opposition, Health Impact, and Local Voices
Anti-LGBT laws can push men who have sex with men away from HIV treatment, citing reduced clinic visits in Senegal after arrests. A coalition of 100 civil-society groups urged Mahama to reject the bill, arguing it invites “external actors with resources and reach.” An Accra-based photographer said, “I constantly self-censor, hide, watch my back. That’s not safety, that’s survival.”
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Reuters could not verify activist involvement or funding at the conference, nor determine how many legislators will introduce new bills. While five participants were interviewed, U.S. group MassResistance’s impact on Ghanaian and Senegalese lawmakers remains unsubstantiated.
Verbatim Quotes
- “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,” — Alban Bagbin, Ghana Parliament Speaker
- “These policies are not only reserved for the Netherlands and for Europe. They are coming to Africa,” describing conversion-therapy bans as “ideological colonisation.” — Henk Jan van Schothorst, Christian Council International
- “I constantly self-censor, hide, watch my back. That's not safety, that's survival,” — Unnamed African photographer, Accra resident
- “Let us first thank the American people for voting for President Trump. The conversation in America today is different,” — Sarah Opendi, former Ugandan lawmaker
Outlook
President John Dramani Mahama must decide on signing Ghana’s anti-LGBT promotion bill, and charter signatories are expected to work toward enacting national laws that safeguard African culture.
