HRC59: Ghana affirmed only male and female are recognised genders — Foreign Affairs Ministry

Ghana has reaffirmed its position that only male and female are recognised as genders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

The Ministry stressed that the country’s Permanent Representative at the 59th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC59) made this clear during deliberations.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, July 9, the Ministry stressed that it will not take any action or decision that contravenes the widely-held stance of the public against LGBTQ.

“Our understanding of the traditional definition of gender is the male sex or female sex, especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences. Similarly, sex in our view refers to either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided and used for statistical purposes and policy monitoring,” the Ministry quoted the envoy as saying.

It added, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very mindful of the Ghanaian public’s general opposition and the Government’s strong stance against the subject of LGBTQI rights and will not act in any manner to undermine this position.”

This reaffirmation comes amid public criticism on social and traditional media, where many accused the government of abandoning its firm stance against LGBTQI activities.

Critics claimed Ghana avoided a yes or no vote on a resolution perceived as backing LGBTQI rights.

But the Ministry clarified that there was no vote to support LGBTQI rights as being speculated.

“The question before the Council was whether persons who identify as LGBTQI should be protected against violence and discrimination or not. It was not about support for LGBTQI rights. Ghana abstained in the vote, to be consistent with Chapter 5, Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution, which specifically prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, or social and economic status,” the statement read.