The founder of the LGBTQI center in Ghana said he feared for his safety

Alex Kofi Donkor, who heads the center called ‘LGBT + Rights Ghana’ in the country’s capital, Accra, told CNN on Thursday he was now worried about his safety after the raid.

“I have just contacted our lawyers, there is currently an unsafe situation and I have to go offline,” Donkor told CNN.

The community center – which opened on 31 January during a ceremony attended by a delegation from the European Union and other foreign embassies – opposed from the outset and provoked a great deal of anger among residents who called for it to be closed. word.

Ghana said Ghana recommended same-sex relationships and intolerance and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
According to the country’s criminal law, between three and 25 years’ imprisonment in Ghana’s LGBT can be of the same sex.

A Ghanaian police spokesman declined to comment on the strike by the non-profit center, which is described as a movement fighting for freedom for LGBT + people in Ghana.

Although it was short-lived, the center would remain in ‘hearts and minds’, Donkor posted on its social media page.

“We were expecting it,” he posted. “We will celebrate. The police may have stormed our office and closed it, but the real office is in our hearts and in our minds.”

According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), the country is one of more than 30 countries in Africa where same-sex relationships are against the law.
Progress for gay rights in Africa is still not inevitable
Sarah Adwoa Sarfo, Secretary of State for Gender, Children and Social Protection in Ghana, said in a video during her confirmation hearing on 17 February that Ghanaian same-sex laws were out of the question when asked about her position on social protection. for non-heterosexual people.

“The issue of LGBT is an issue that, if it is mentioned, creates some controversy, but what I want to say is that our laws are clear about such practices. It makes it criminal … to have unnatural carnal knowledge having another person, “Sarfo said. in the video.

“As far as crime is concerned, it is non-negotiable. On the issue of cultural acceptance and norms, these practices are also rejected. For me, these are two clear clarities on the matter, and that is what I stand for,” she added.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden instructed United States foreign departments and agencies to ‘promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people everywhere’.

Botswana scraps gay sex laws in big win for LGBTQ rights in Africa
President Biden sought to decriminalize LGBTQI + status abroad in a memorandum issued on February 4, in which he threatened widespread sanctions against countries where gay rights are suppressed.

“When foreign governments restrict or fail to enforce the rights of LGBTQI + persons and thus contribute to a climate of intolerance, agencies involved abroad will consider appropriate responses, including the use of the full range. diplomatic and aids and, such as appropriate financial sanctions, visa restrictions and other actions, ”reads the presidential memorandum.

However, Ghana has responded by responding that the country’s laws are of paramount importance and that legislation criminalizing sexual activities for gay people remains in force.

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