Human rights lawyer and Criminologist, Professor Ken Agyemang Attafuah has defended the position of the minister-designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, on the controversial gay issue.
Professor Attafuah in an interview on Joy FM, endorsed Nana Oye Lithur’s stance on homosexuality, explaining that the constitution does not point out any discretion in the area of sexual preferences.
He said the Constitution guarantees the fundamental human rights of every individual irrespective of the person’s sexual orientation.
Referring to Article 15 (1) which states that “The dignity of all persons shall be inviolable”, he said homosexuals have fundamental rights which should not be undermined.
According to him, Nana Oye Lithur clearly made her stance before the Parliamentary Appointments Committee that she was not going to promote homosexuality even if, she also added that she will protect the rights of all people including homosexuals.
He added that she being a gender activist has a mandate to protect the rights of marginalized people in the country; something that she has sought to do all this while.
He further stated that the constitution does not specifically make any provisions about the sexual orientation of persons.
He explained that sexual orientation cannot be interpreted to mean natural carnal knowledge, so homosexuals could not be entirely faulted for their sexual preferences.
Professor Ken Attafuah expressed that though homosexuals are not exempt from the laws that prohibit the practice of sodomy, bestiality and other sexual misconducts; their rights are humans should be respected.
He however advised all Ghanaians to comply with the laws of the country.
“We must all obey the laws of this country”, he urged.
Source: GhanaWeb
