Ghana did not vote on LGBTQ+ support – Foreign Affairs Minister clarifies UN abstention
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has refuted what he describes as misleading media reports suggesting that Ghana had compromised its stance by abstaining from a crucial vote on a homosexuality motion tabled at the United Nations.
According to the minister, “The motion before the international organisation had nothing to do with a human rights question. Instead, it was a question of extending the tenure of some experts on the Human Rights Council.”
Speaking at a brief commissioning ceremony for Ghana’s new representative to UNESCO, the minister said the vote in question did not concern any endorsement or rejection of homosexuality.
The minister clarified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official position on the issue. “The ministry wishes to state for the records that there was no vote on support for LGBTQ+ for which Ghana abstained. So let’s get it clear, there was no vote on support for LGBTQ+ for which Ghana abstained,” he said.
He explained that Ghana’s decision was about a broader human rights resolution. “Our ambassador in Geneva has clarified, he has sent a full report and has clarified that the vote was about independent experts’ mandate on violence against women, against people of various sexual orientations,” he noted.
“That is what the vote was about. A general vote about protecting human rights, particularly of women, violence against women and persons of various sexual orientations. And Ghana decided to abstain, consistent with our human rights credentials. Why will you want to endorse violence against women in particular?”
There have been criticisms of the government by critics who accuse the government of indecision following the United Nations Human Rights Council vote on July 7, 2025, with some claiming the government failed to defend the nation’s norms.
