Ghana’s Brazen Move to Outlaw LGBTQ Organizing Is the Latest Attack on Freedom of Association in Africa

Ghana’s case is extreme. On the African continent, only Uganda and Nigeria explicitly criminalize queer organizing through direct legal prohibitions on “gay cubs” (Nigeria) or “promotion of homosexuality” (Uganda), placing them among the world’s worst offenders concerning LGBTIQ freedom of association – a club that Ghana appears determined to join. Uganda’s Court of Appeal has also recently held that an LGBTQ organization, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), seeks to promote rights criminalized by law and, as such, cannot be legally registered. But across the continent, activists struggle to organize, battling danger, social stigma, arbitrary denials of rights, and implicit prohibitions. 

The situation in Ghana is not an isolated case. Reid's statement highlights the disturbing trend of increasing restrictions on fundamental freedoms for LGBTQ individuals, with at least 60 United Nations member states restricting freedom of expression and 59 restricting freedom of assembly. The rise in hostile rhetoric used to justify these restrictions further exacerbates the challenges marginalized individuals face while advocating for their rights.

In 2023, Outright International published a report on The Global State of LGBTIQ Organizing: The Right to Register and the Freedom to Operate, analyzing the extent to which LGBTIQ activists can enjoy this right. Among 47 Sub-Saharan African countries, we found that only five - Botswana, Cabo Verde, Lesotho, Seychelles, and South Africa – allow LGBTIQ organizations to register and operate openly. Angola and Mozambique have made gestures toward allowing LGBTIQ organizations to register, but activists continue to report obstacles. In 32 other sub-Saharan African countries, LGBTIQ organizations exist, but they cannot register openly as LGBTIQ-focused. In eight countries, such as Chad, Gabon, and South Sudan, Outright has been unable to identify any LGBTIQ organizations at all. 

Laws in 25 Sub-Saharan African countries criminalize same-sex intimacy, thwarting the ability of LGBTIQ advocacy groups to demand rights protections. In Senegal, for instance,  an activist told Outright that frequent arrests on charges of same-sex conduct hindered movement-building and impacted morale, rendering “us illegal entities in a country that is supposed to be a free country.”

Where freedom of association seemingly exists for LGBTIQ people in Africa, it has often been hard-won. The Bostwanan group, LEGABIBO, won the right to registration in 2014. The state appealed, but the Court of Appeals upheld the ruling in 2016. In Kenya, where the NGO Board refused to register the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the group sought redress in court in 2013. Its battle for basic rights lasted ten years, with repeated appeals from the government, until the February 2023 Supreme Court decision that the NGO Board acted discriminatorily. The country’s Vice-President criticized this decision, protests rose based on ‘moral’ hysteria, and a Member of Parliament challenged the decision, which the court dismissed. NGLHRC is now undergoing the registration process in what will be a test case of Kenya’s willingness to uphold the rule of law. Meanwhile, Parliament is considering two harmful new bills: the proposed Family Protection Bill 2023, expanding existing criminalization of same-sex acts, and a Constitutional amendment bill outlawing “illegal groups such as gay coalitions.” 

Similarly, Eswatini’s Registrar of Companies refused to register Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities in 2019, after which the organization approached the court to set this decision aside. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court in June 2023 declared the Registrar’s decision void based on the approach being outside his powers. Presently, the Ministry for Commerce, Industry and Trade has refused to register the organization because the NGO’s name and objectives allegedly offend the customary principles preserved “in our Swazi law and custom that a man and a woman shall start and maintain a love relationship.” As the organization again had to approach the court, four UN Special Procedures mandate holders issued a communication to the Eswatini Government in November 2023 demanding an explanation on how the refusal to register ESGM complies with international human rights law.

Where LGBTIQ people cannot register and operate organizations, movements are stunted by a lack of access to sustainable funding and formal recognition, contributing to great difficulty in advocacy amidst institutionalized and social discrimination. The right to freedom of association is fundamental; moreso, it profoundly impacts the ability of people to enjoy other rights, including equality, dignity, well-being, and freedom from discrimination. When deprived of exercising this right, marginalized populations become further so. 

African LGBTIQ people should not have to choose between life in the shadows and decades-long court battles to earn the simple right to associate freely. To fully protect communities and actualize rights guaranteed internationally and under national Constitutions, governments must leave no one behind – including LGBTIQ people. Individuals, policymakers, and allies should speak up for inclusive laws in Ghana, Uganda, and everywhere that protect the LGBTIQ people’s rights to freedom of association and civic participation.