Melanie Nathan, May 31, 2026
Friends, do you realize that Ghana has just passed one of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ laws the world has ever seen? While it does not carry the death penalty like Uganda’s infamous “Kill the Gays” law, it may as well. This is social death. It is a law likely to send LGBTQI+ people, professionals, allies, advocates, family members, and human rights defenders to prison.
What makes this law especially dangerous is that it criminalizes identity itself. Unlike the old colonial-era penal codes that purported to criminalize conduct, this law explicitly targets people who “hold themselves out” to be LGBTQI+. In other words, merely being who you are can become a crime.
So I ask you: will you remain silent, or will you call this out?
I urge you to read the statements and articles I have posted, particularly regarding the upcoming Reparations Conference in Ghana. If the NAACP and Congressional Black Caucus proceed with this event without condemning this legislation, they risk legitimizing it and providing political cover for President Mahama to sign it into law.
A conference dedicated to justice, freedom, dignity, and equality cannot ignore the persecution of an entire class of people. I am calling for the conference to be cancelled, postponed, or relocated to a venue where the principles it claims to champion truly apply to everyone.
SEE LETTER TO NAACP AND CBC (First Letter here.)
Dear Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Leadership of the NAACP, UNESCO Representatives, and Participating Stakeholders,
Ghana’s Parliament has now passed one of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ laws in the world. Unlike colonial-era penal provisions that purported to criminalize conduct, this legislation criminalizes identity itself. It targets people who “hold themselves out” as LGBTQI+, while extending criminal liability to allies, advocates, service providers, and those who offer support or protection. The law threatens imprisonment, fuels persecution, and will further marginalize an already terrified and vulnerable community. At the very moment Ghana is preparing to host the June conference dedicated to reparatory justice, it is simultaneously stripping a class of its own citizens of dignity, equality, and fundamental freedoms.
Under these circumstances, participation in the June 2026 Reparations Conference cannot be viewed as neutral. Attendance by respected organizations and leaders risks legitimizing this legislation and providing political cover for its implementation. A conference founded upon justice, freedom, and human dignity cannot credibly proceed in a venue where LGBTQI+ people, their advocates, and allies are effectively excluded by law and fear of persecution. To do so would send the message that some forms of discrimination, robbing of freedom, and the violent persecution of LGBTI people, remain acceptable so long as they are politically convenient.
We therefore respectfully urge participating organizations, sponsors, speakers, and delegates to boycott the conference unless it is cancelled, postponed, or relocated to a jurisdiction that respects the fundamental rights of all people. Reparatory justice cannot coexist with the active criminalization of identity. History will judge not only those who enacted this law, but also those who chose to remain silent or participate .
Statement on the new law here.
Respectfully,
Melanie Nathan
Executive Director
African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC)
AfricanHRC.org
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