LGBT+ society ask university to question Ghana’s President on human rights

Aberdeen university is granting Ghanian president John Dramani Mahama with an honorary doctorate today for his work on child poverty and the fight against ebola. However, the LGBT+ society have asked the university to use the event as an opportunity to question the president about the inequality of some Ghanian human rights.

The society have highlighted the fact men in Ghana can still be jailed for up to three years if they are found guilty of homosexuality, among other concerns.

Although the society showed concerns towards the university for granting the president an honorary award, they pointed out the president should be credited for speaking out against homophobic violence. A student from the society said: “Mahama has raised his voice against violence against LGBT+ people before. It is our strong desire that the president could champion the cause of disadvantaged minorities further by providing a voice against groups that continues to obstruct equality and social justice in Ghanaian society.”

As part of a group visiting Scotland in order to strengthen relationships between the two countries, President Mahama attended First Minister’s Questions yesterday, and it’s fair to say that he wasn’t enthusiastically received by MSPs there. Nicola Sturgeon’s spokesperson also added that the First Minister would discuss equality with the president.

Amnesty International’s Scottish director Naomi McAuliffe said that the meeting between the First Minister and president was highly important, an opportunity to raise the serious issue of Ghana’s human rights with the president.

McAuliffe told The National: “There are serious human rights violations in Ghana: police and intelligence services use torture and other ill-treatment against citizens and Amnesty International has recorded several cases of excessive force. Repressive attitudes towards LGBT+ Ghanaians mean they are vulnerable to discrimination and physical attacks. Consensual same-sex conduct between men is a criminal offence and we have received reports that LGBT+ people face police harassment.”

A spokesman from the university defended the decision to grant the honorary doctorate: “The decision to confer an honorary degree on the president of Ghana followed detailed consideration by the university’s honorary degrees committee, and was approved by our academic Senate. This took into account a number of factors including his work on child poverty and children’s rights and our large Ghanaian student and graduate population.”