By Desmond Darko (Editor, The Catalyst)

There is no human right covering for homosexuality in Ghana, PERIOD! I want Nana Oye Lithur to come again. The Human Rights lawyer says Ghana is operating under a rule of law which enjoins us to respect the rights of all persons, including homosexuals.

Nana Oye Lithur’s position is in consonance with the explanation by the office of the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, which said that threat made by the Prime Minister to suspend aid to African countries that prohibit gay rights was in the context of the efforts of the British government to promote human rights around the world.

Laws are a product of the society. Laws are expected to guide social conduct and behaviour. And because all societies have their unique cultures, every society makes laws to suit their particular socio-cultural needs. To that effect, societal norms and cultural values become the central focus in the enactment of laws. Laws which are not informed by, and reflect a society’s culture, norms, values and ideals will certainly end up destroying that society. Even though there are universal laws that guide human conduct in a certain way in every part of the world, the interpretation and execution of these laws vary from society to society in respect of different socio-cultural norms, values and ideals. The fact that the British have decided to consider homosexuality as an acceptable social norm means that the practice fits into their socio-cultural context and therefore they think it is alright. So in Britain, any attack on the phenomenon in any form will thus necessarily raise a human rights issue. The same cannot be said of Ghana or any other country in the world for that matter, whose culture frowns upon the practice of homosexuality.

Human rights of citizens derive from the law, the supreme law being the Constitution of every country, which laws are expected to be situated within the right socio-cultural contexts of the people. The Ghanaian society en bloc is saying that homosexuality is an abominable act that will debase its cultural values if allowed to thrive in the country. Simply put, homosexuality is a taboo in every individual Ghanaian society and cannot be tolerated.

No Ghanaian law makes homosexuality an acceptable social norm. I am not a student of law, let alone a lawyer. But as far as am concerned, none of our laws even remotely favours homosexuality. The constitution of Ghana grants every citizen the rights to free speech, freedom of association and freedom of religion. Even here, there are exceptions to the rule. These rights must be kept within the ambit of the law both by citizens and law enforcement agencies. If these rights are trampled upon, then one can say there are human rights issues. Our constitution does not grant exclusive rights to any citizen, let alone homosexuals, whose act is completely against the supreme law of Ghana. So, wherein lies the so-called human rights protection for homosexuality in Ghana as we are being made to swallow?

After all, the Ghanaian society is only driving home the point forcefully enough that no deviants are going to be allowed to use their backsides to debase the country’s cherished cultural norms and values. There can be nothing wrong with this noble decision.

If Ghanaians did not rise up in the unison manner they have showcased so far against the threat by David Cameron- and yours truly hopes the momentum will be sustained- the homosexuals will be emboldened to perpetuate the abominable act without fear or favour and the society will be contaminated beyond repairs in no time, as it pertains in Britain and elsewhere when viewed from Ghanaian lenses. What then will happen is that they will take the issue to another level by demanding legislation for its legalisation. If speaking with one voice against this abomination is considered hate speech by the human rights advocates, so be it.

If we talk about human rights for homosexuals, not because they have been treated in contrast to the laws of the land but because the Ghanaian society says the act is alien to its socio-cultural norms and values and so they will not tolerate it, then what are we going to say about the acts of prostitution, drugs use and other forms of social deviations that are punishable by law? Those engaged in these acts also have human rights. But are we going to say that because they have human rights, we should stop speaking against these acts and also stop enforcing the laws that deal with the social menaces?

If the human rights lawyers in Ghana agree with David Cameron’s ‘Gay Aid Policy’ let them come clear and stop hiding behind some obnoxious human rights advocacy to confuse the public. As far as I am concerned, the homos can only have that kind of human rights if the act does not infringe upon our laws as a country and also our societal norms as a people.

David Cameron and his people could be right in allowing the act of homosexuality to thrive in their country because it falls within acceptable limits of their socio-cultural norms. We in Ghana are saying the act infringes upon our very existence as a people and therefore, not even a threat from Satan himself will make us mortgage, yet again, our cultural values and norms to David Cameron and his like for anything in the world, not to talk of a pittance he calls aid to Africa.

If Britain recognises the so-called ‘Gay Rights,’ it is their business. David Cameron has no right to impose the abominable alien culture on us under the guise of a so-called human rights campaign. Ghanaians say a big NO this time round to Britain. For that matter, the earlier the human rights lawyers in Ghana stop singing the despicable song of the British, the better it will be for all of us.

The time is rife for us as a people to make David Cameron and his people understand the intrinsic values underpinning our cultural norms, practices and behaviours. President Mills has hit the nail exactly on the heard when he said that, as a sovereign nation, David Cameron has no right to tell us what to do. The reality is that the abominable act of homosexuality has no exclusive human rights covering in Ghana and let nobody try to hold us to ransom by raising the spectre of human rights for homosexuals in the country. We cannot be blackmailed into defiling our very existence with threats of withholding some so-called aid from us either.

Ask me if homosexuals have human rights regarding the act in Ghana and I will shout a big NO, loud and clear. They have none and they will not have any!