OutRage! News Service. March 13.
Open Letter to President John Kufuor of Ghana
On the occasion of his State Visit to the UK
Call for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ghana and
government action against homophobic hate crime
LONDON, 12 March 2007
The following letter was delivered by LGBTI human right group OutRage!
to President Kufuor when he arrived in London today.
It was written in response to requests for protests from Prince Kweku
MacDonald, President, Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana (GALAG),
and from Mac-Darling Cobbinah Executive / National Director, Centre
for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana.
Further information: OutRage! 020 7403 1790
-----------------------
President John Kufuor
Republic of Ghana
12 March 2007
Dear President Kufuor,
Welcome to London.
We extend warmest wishes to you and the people of Ghana, on behalf of
the lesbian and gay human rights group OutRage!.
We join with you this month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
Ghana’s independence.
We hope that this year, as you celebrate Ghana’s freedom, you will
extend that freedom to your lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) citizens.
Ghana’s continuing criminalisation of homosexuality is a relic of
colonialism. This anti-gay law was imposed on the people of Ghana by
the British colonial administration in the nineteenth century. It sets
Ghanaian against Ghanaian, undermining national unity and dividing
people against each other.
The prohibition of consenting adult same-sex relations violates the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which enshrine the principles of
equal rights and non-discrimination for all human beings.
As a free and independent nation, we hope your government will turn
its back on the hateful, divisive homophobia of the colonial era.
Specificially, we respectfully urge your government to:
1. Repeal the legislation that criminalises same-sex relations
2. Enact new laws to protect LGBT people against discrimination
3. Include LGBT Ghanaians in your HIV prevention programmes
4. Arrest the perpetrators of homophobic violence and protect the
victims
5. Begin a dialogue with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana
All Ghanaians should enjoy independence and freedom.
We ask you to support individual liberty: the right of each person to
live their own life and make their own choices, providing they do not
harm others. A democratic state has no legitimate place in the
bedroom, nor should it seek to dictate who people love.
We urge you to follow in the footsteps of the African National
Congress government of South Africa, which pioneered Africa’s
commitment to the human rights of lesbian and gay people. The ANC
embraced gay equality in 1987. It later ensured that the
post-apartheid constitution became the first in the world to
explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Since
then, the ANC government has repealed the apartheid-era anti-gay
laws.
We note that the anti-apartheid heroes, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, are both strong supporters of lesbian and gay human
rights. They are demonstrating inspiring leadership, showing that
freedom is for all Africans, not just heterosexual ones.
We also appreciate that Kofi Annan, a great Ghanaian world statesman,
defended LGBT human rights when he was United Nations General
Secretary. His extension of spousal benefits to the same-sex partners
of UN employees signified a clear rejection of homophobic
discrimination.
We urge you to affirm in word and deed that every Ghanaian, whatever
their sexual orientation, is equal before the law.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Tatchell
Coordinator, OutRage! London
Kizza Musinguzi
African Affairs spokesperson, OutRage! London
---------------------
Appendix 1
The ban on same-sex relations violates international human rights law
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights affirms the equality
of all people:
Article 2 states: “Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment
of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present
Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion,
national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status.”
Article 3 states: “Every individual shall be equal before the law.
Every individual shall be entitled to equal protection of the law.”
Article 26 states: “Every individual shall have the duty to respect
and consider his fellow beings without discrimination, and to maintain
relations aimed at promoting, safeguarding and reinforcing mutual
respect and tolerance.”
In the historic, landmark 1994 legal case of Toonen v Australia, the
United Nations Human Rights Committee, which monitors the compliance
of member states with the International Covenant of Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), ruled that sexual orientation should be
understood to be a status protected from discrimination under these
ICCPR articles. States cannot therefore legitimately limit the
enjoyment of human rights on the basis of sexual orientation.
The UN Human Rights Committee has since urged states not only to
repeal laws criminalising homosexuality but to also enshrine the
prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation into their
constitutions or other fundamental laws.
Ends
Comments
Hide the following comment
African LGBTI on Peter Tatchell and Outrage
13.03.2007 21:49
Warn Public Against Participation in Campaigns
Concerning LGBTI Issues in Africa Led by Peter
Tatchell and Outrage!
PUBLIC STATEMENT OF WARNING
In order to prevent Peter Tatchell and Outrage! from
causing further damage through their unfounded
campaigns and press releases, we issue this public
statement of warning.
As Human Rights Defenders from across Africa, we
strongly discourage the public from taking part in any
LGBTI campaigns or calls to action concerning Africa
that are led by Peter Tatchell or Outrage!
Collaboration across continents is both important and
valuable. We are willing to work with those who
respect our advice and expertise regarding our
continent.
However, Outrage! has been acting in contempt and
disregard of the wishes and lives of African Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) Human
Rights Defenders. We have made every attempt to
address this matter with Outrage!, personally, and
they have refused to listen. We now take this matter
to the public, requesting you not to take part in any
of Peter Tatchell or Outrage!'s campaigns regarding
Africa , as they are not factually-based and are
harmful to African activists.
Through the following actions, Outrage! has repeatedly
disrespected the lives, damaged the struggle, and
endangered the safety of African Human Rights
Defenders:
1. Outrage!'s press releases contain information that
is not factual. They do not verify information
before including it in their press releases. When
they are corrected by local activists, they refuse to
print retractions or to make any attempt to stop the
damaging effects of their press releases.
2. Outrage! repeatedly quotes people out of context
and uses these statements to further their own agenda
rather than presenting the truth.
3. Outrage! does not consult the relevant local
activists before embarking on campaigns that directly
affect us and are destructive to our work. They
disregard collaborative efforts by African LGBTI Human
Rights Defenders and international Human Rights
organisations, and come up with unilateral strategies
that work against the progress being achieved by the
rest of the Human Rights actors. We are tired of
having to constantly expend energy working to undo
irreparable damage that Outrage! has caused.
4. Outrage! exaggerates the violations our governments
commit. When they quote African Human Rights
Defenders in the very same press releases where they
are exaggerating claims against our governments, we
are held responsible for their reckless outbursts.
As African activists, we are then left to face the
wrath of our communities for statements we never made.
5. Outrage! does not listen to, value, or heed the
advice of local genuine activists. They mix our
words with the opinions of uninformed, naïve, or crook
individuals. They take whatever information is
available, regardless of the source, and twist it to
gain more publicity. Certainly, Outrage! is not
acting on our behalf.
Therefore, we urge the public not to participate in
any LGBTI campaigns regarding Africa that are led or
influenced by Peter Tatchell or Outrage!, as they
repeatedly put our lives in danger through their
reckless, non-factual, and inflammatory press
releases, letters, and calls to action.
As African LGBTI Human Rights Defenders, we are
working toward the recognition of our rights by our
governments in Africa . We do not appreciate or
accept the efforts of Western-based individuals or
organisations who try to make our work for liberation
into an ego-boosting publicity campaign for
themselves. We condemn Peter Tatchell and Outrage!
for their irresponsible journalism and a deplorable
lack of respect for the very people they claim they
are defending.
We will continue to work with our governments on the
acknowledgement and protection of our basic human
rights as African lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
and intersex people. Furthermore, we will proudly
defend our right as Africans to praise our governments
when they protect and acknowledge us.
OUR MESSAGE
United as African LGBTI Human Rights Defenders, we
send out the following messages:
To Peter Tatchell and Outrage!:
Stay out of African LGBTI issues. You have proven that
you have no respect for conveying the truth with
regards to Africa or consulting African LGBTI leaders
before carrying out campaigns that have severe
consequences in our countries. You have betrayed our
trust over and over again.
This is neo-colonialism and it has no place in our
struggle or in Africa .
To the Press:
Responsible journalism is one of the keys to social
transformation and the protection of human rights.
Verify information about Africa before publishing it.
Consult the leaders of the LGBTI Movement in Africa
about strategy and do not just spread any
misinformation you find on the internet.
Abide by the rules of good journalism with regard to
Africa , as you would be expected to do with regard to
your own countries.
To the Public:
International collaboration can give strength to
already vibrant LGBTI campaigns in Africa . Consult
from reliable sources that investigate cases before
they report, such as Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty
International (AI), and the International Gay and
Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Peter
Tatchell and Outrage! are not reliable sources on
LGBTI issues in Africa and information from them
should not be trusted or used as a basis for action.
PRESENT SITUATION
We fear that Peter Tatchell's sudden call for a
campaign to pressure the Nigerian government regarding
the proposed same-sex marriage prohibition might
backfire and cause the oppressive homophobic bill's
passage.
After being warned that the advice of Nigerian
activists is to refrain from putting attention on the
dormant bill, Outrage! looked for some individual in
Nigeria to support them in the course they had already
chosen to take. To serve this purpose, Leo Igwe's
comments were quoted in George Broadhead's recent
press release and are being taken out of context.
While Leo is a very courageous friend and ally of the
movement, Outrage! should have contacted and requested
advice on strategy from the LGBTI Human Rights
Defenders who led the original campaign against the
bill from Nigeria .
Over the past ten months, Human Rights Defenders from
the region and elsewhere have exercised a lot of
formal and informal pressure on Nigerian law-makers to
make sure the bill did not get passed into law.
Until Outrage!'s action was issued, the bill was dead.
By calling on people to begin a campaign at this
stage, interest could be awakened in the bill.
Outrage! is acting irresponsibly and in direct
contradiction to the advice of leaders of the Nigerian
LGBTI movement.
BACKGROUND
Just five months ago, a similar situation was evolving
in Uganda . Outrage! had included unverified
information in a press release on Uganda and was
refusing to listen to the concerns of Ugandan LGBT
Human Rights Defenders. After many conversations
about the importance of accuracy, fact-checking, and
consultation with genuine African activists, Ugandan
Human Rights Defender Juliet Victor Mukasa, finally
wrote directly to Peter Tatchell:
"You have included unverified information in your
press releases and those allegations against the
government are going to come back to us. You will sit
safely in London while our activists in Uganda pay the
price for your deeds ... We have many people in the
West who support our struggle, but they would not do
anything to jeopardize our safety. ... You have shown
a blatant disregard for the reputations and safety of
legitimate activists in Uganda ... I know what effect
your press releases have on my country. Please put a
stop to all your press releases regarding my country.
It must stop."
Immediately following the receipt of this message,
Outrage! issued yet another press release on Uganda ,
and helped organise a demonstration against the
Ugandan High Commission in London .
These examples from Nigeria and Uganda are just two
out of many instances of breaches of trust and
disregard for the work, wisdom, and lives of African
Human Rights Defenders. We have repeatedly asked
Outrage! to retract their calls to action and to
restrain from any further action regarding LGBTI
issues in Africa . Outrage! has refused. As we would
do in the case of any person or organisation acting
out of such blatant disrespect for the truth and for
the people they claim to defend, we urge the public
not to participate in LGBTI campaigns led by Peter
Tatchell or Outrage! which pertain to our continent,
Africa .
Signed:
Dorothy Aken'Ova
INCRESE, 1E, Bosso Road
G. P. O. 3684, Minna
Niger State Nigeria
08065488417, 08034500714
Juliet Victor Mukasa
Chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
+27 79 194 9561
Fikile Vilakazi
Director of the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Wendy Landau
Human Rights Researcher, Behind the Mask (BtM)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Kasha N. Jacqueline
Chairperson of Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG)
+256 772 463161
David Kato
Integrity Uganda
Samuel Ganafa
Chairperson of Spectrum Uganda
Danilo da Silva
LGBTI Mozambique
Judith Ngunjiri
Minority Women in Action, Kenya
Emmanuel Kamau
Chairperson of ISHTAR Kenya
Peter Njoroge
Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK)
Joel Gustave Nana
Human Rights Researcher, Alternatives-Cameroon
Ayesha Imam
Human Rights Defender
Nigeria/Senegal
Sokari Ekine
Human Rights Defender, Black Looks
Carlos Idibouo
Consellor at TAGL
Advisor at AfriCar Project
+1 647 261 3214/ +1 416 922 4226
Mac Darling Cobbinah
Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana
Kanuma Georges
Leader of LGBTI group ARDHO, Burundi
Linda Baumann
The Rainbow Project (TRP)
Namibia
Thuli Madi
Director, Behind the Mask
Johannesburg, South Africa
Oludare Odumuye
Alliance Rights, Nigeria
For more information about the current situation in
Nigeria , please contact INCRESE at:
How comes Outrage! never dealt with this?
Homepage:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/02/361469.html?c=on#c166229