Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, Hon. James Enu, has disclosed that significant amendments and fresh inputs have been incorporated into the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, contrary to earlier expectations that the legislation would undergo minimal changes.
Speaking at the end of Thursday’s clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill, Hon. Enu described the review process as productive and insightful, citing the extensive work undertaken by the Committee and contributions from stakeholders.
“There was a clear indication that not much would be added to the Bill because it had gone through all the processes. But it is important to appreciate that a lot of work has been done. A lot of input has been made,” he stated.
According to him, the Committee intentionally avoided a wholesale review of the Bill, choosing instead to focus on integrating new developments and submissions received since the legislation was last considered in February 2024.
“Since the Bill was last considered, there have been some developments, some additional developments that have come up, some inputs that have been drawn to our attention. And indeed, we have been able to incorporate all of this,” he said.
Hon. Enu noted that one of the most significant improvements made to the Bill was the inclusion of timelines for the passage of regulations needed to operationalise the law once approved.
“For me, what is even more important has to do with the fact that we were able to put timelines to the regulations. This Bill is a very important one. It is also important that we are able to pass the regulations that will give flesh to the legislation so that it can be operational,” he explained.
He further stressed that the review process was inclusive and reflected the views of a broad range of stakeholders.
“I believe that we have taken everybody on board — talk about the religious bodies, talk about human rights, talk about the Ghana AIDS Commission — all the key stakeholders have made inputs into this exercise, and I think that is the way to go,” he added.
The Vice Chairman also assured the public of the Committee’s resolve to fast-track the Bill through Parliament.
“I want to assure the public that we are going to expedite the process before the House and make sure that we prosecute this Bill and bring it to a successful end,” he said.
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill seeks to prohibit LGBTQ+ advocacy, funding and related activities. The Committee has so far completed consideration of 16 out of the Bill’s 19 clauses, with the remaining three clauses expected to be taken at the next sitting.
Source: Clement Akoloh/parliamentnews360.com
