Nigeria Strategic Gathering in Asaba, 23-26 February 2025
Author: Interfaith Diversity Network Of West Africa
Statement by the Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA) on Ghana’s Upcoming Elections
Statement by the Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA) on Ghana’s Upcoming Elections on 7th December 2024
As Ghana approaches its general elections on 7th December 2024, the Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA) calls for a peaceful, inclusive, and transparent electoral process that upholds the dignity and rights of all citizens.
A Call for Peace and Unity
We urge political parties, candidates, and their supporters to prioritize peace and refrain from rhetoric or actions that may incite violence, division, or hatred. Ghana has long been a beacon of democracy in Africa, and it is imperative that this legacy is upheld during this critical period.
Respect for Human Rights
Elections should not be a platform for the marginalization of vulnerable groups, including women, youth, and LGBTQI+ individuals. We call on all stakeholders to promote messages of inclusion, unity, and respect for diversity. Hate speech, stigmatization, and the use of homophobia as a political tool have no place in a democratic society.
Fairness and Transparency
IDNOWA appeals to the Electoral Commission, security agencies, and all relevant authorities, to ensure that the electoral process is free, fair and transparent. Citizens must feel confident that their voices will be heard and their votes counted without intimidation or fear.
Engagement with Religious and Community Leaders
As an interfaith organization, we emphasise the role of religious and community leaders in fostering dialogue and encouraging peaceful coexistence. Let us use our platforms to unite communities rather than divide them.
Encouraging Civic Responsibility
We encourage all eligible voters to exercise their right to vote responsibly and without coercion. Participation in the democratic process is a cornerstone of active citizenship and a vital step toward shaping a more inclusive and equitable society.
Our Commitment
IDNOWA remains committed to promoting peace, human rights, and inclusion across West Africa. We stand ready to collaborate with civil society organizations, government agencies, and international partners to ensure a peaceful electoral process in Ghana.
Together, let us strive for an election that reflects the values of justice, equity, and respect for all.
Signed
Mr. Davis Mac-Iyalla
Executive Director
Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa.
ILGA World Conference
The Executive Director and Members of Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA ) participated at the ILGA (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World Conference 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The ILGA World Conference is the largest global gathering of LGBTIQ changemakers. They have held them since the early days of the organisation in the 1970s.
An ILGA World Conference is a chance to assess where our communities stand, share experiences and best practices, build alliances and partnerships, discuss the future of the movement, and collectively chart ways to advance equality worldwide.
ILGA World Conference is also where the life of the organisation is shaped. ILGA members elect their representatives, advance proposals and constitutional changes, and endorse new organisations to join our family.
ILGA World is queer democracy in action, and it all starts from ILGA World Conferences.
In his closing remarks, Davis Mac-Iyalla, IDNOWA Executive Director, said,
We can’t change the world in one week, but we can try to listen to each other and find strategies to change the negative attitude and discrimination towards us and our community.
We are stronger together in this struggle. Let’s not allow our enemies to divide us and set the ring for us to fight each other while they watch in jubilation.
As an African, my concepts for dialogue are always Ubuntu.”
About ILGA
On their website (ilga.org/) ILGA says,
ILGA World – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association – is a worldwide federation of more than 1,900 organisations from over 160 countries and territories campaigning for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex human rights.
We want a world where the human rights of all are respected and where everyone can live in equality and freedom: a world where global justice and equity are assured and established regardless of people’s sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
Established in 1978, ILGA World has ECOSOC consultative status at the United Nations.
Liberia Methodist Church resist inclusion and diversity
Anti-homosexual protests storm Liberia United Methodist Church
Original story by Gloria Wleh from https://dubawa.org/anti-homosexual-protests-storm-liberia-united-methodist-church/
Liberia is a highly religious country with a Christian majority of 85% of the 5.2 million population.
Article 14 of the Liberian Constitution provides for the “freedom of thought, conscience and religion and no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment thereof except as may be required by law to protect public safety, order, health, morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”
Some Christian denominations practised in Liberia are Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zionists, and several Pentecostal churches.
An American-based Christian organisation called Set Free Alliance said the Methodist is the largest Christian denomination in Liberia.
The Methodist church is almost everywhere in the world and was derived from John Wesley‘s teachings, which posit that salvation must produce holiness of heart and life.
At its most recent 2020\2024 general conference held in the U.S., the United Methodist reached a decision, removing from its Book of Discipline all language that restricts or singles out non-heterosexual people for disparate treatment, effective upon the close of the conference on May 3, 2024.
The church also made its clergy free to preside over same-sex marriage or union ceremonies where they are legal. The church said they are also equally free to choose not to do so. The church says it remains neutral and inclusive, saying, “Sexuality is God’s good gift to all persons.”
Since then, the United Methodist Church in Liberia has been characterised by claims and counterclaims of homosexuality being adopted in the church of Liberia.
Barely a few months after the conference, in June this year, a protest was staged against same-sex marriage in the Methodist church in Nimba County by people believed to be members of the church. The aggrieved members claimed the Resident Bishop of Liberia, Samuel Quire, is gay, and he is trying to infuse same-sex marriage in the church.
Also, on Oct 13, 2024, a simultaneous protest occurred in two United Methodist churches in New Georgia and 72nd communities. The protestants alleged that Bishop Quire suspended their pastors and replaced them because of their stance against homosexuality. They also alleged that a gay wedding was officiated by the bishop on that same day, at one of the churches.
In response on Oct 14, 2024, Bishop Quire said the allegation of him officiating a gay wedding came from the New Georgia branch but was false.
He stressed that the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church would not conduct any weddings or ordination of homosexuals.
Bishop Quire explained that two of the pastors of the New Georgia branch and a clergyman of the 72nd were suspended because they disobeyed the church’s book of discipline. He said he could not reveal their exact offenses because they were administrative decisions.
The bishop said the pastors rejected the suspension letters and decided to continue pastoring their different churches, which disrupted their churches’ services.
He said the “United Methodist Church of Liberia is not a gay church, nor will it ever adopt such an identity.” He added, “They firmly uphold the definition of marriage as the sacred union between one man and one woman– nothing more and nothing less.”
IDNOWA Visits France and Solidarite International LGBTQI
IDNOWA long time partner in France, the Solidarite International LGBTQI (SIL) extended an exchange programme leadership invitation to IDNOWA .
The invitation was honoured by IDNOWA Executive Director, Program Officer and Gender/Youth Officer.
Activities carried out during the visit included meetings with policy makers and non governmental organizations. Private meetings with diplomats from the French and European Foreign Office were also held.
IDNOWA team also met and listened to the concerns of different groups of LGBT+ Asylum seekers in France. Many of them are frustrated and fear been sent back to the very country they are fleeing percussion due to discrimination and stigma against asylum seekers.
Many who spoke to the IDNOWA team are not French speakers who, because of language barrier, don’t know where to go to access information and support.
Kano Cleric Apologises To Bauchi Gov’t Over False Claim On Homosexuality
Kano Cleric Apologises To Bauchi Gov’t Over False Claim On Homosexuality (leadership.ng)
A Kano-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abdullahi Gadon Kaya has apologised to the Bauchi State government over a misinformation he propagated during one of his recent preaching sessions where he claimed that homosexuals across the country converged in an undisclosed hotel in the state to commit sodomy.
He also alleged that the homosexuals rented the hotel at a whooping sum of N100,000,000 for a 10-day event.
However, renouncing the claim, Gadon Kaya said he was wrongly informed by someone in Bauchi State who called him on phone to inform him about the supposed gathering of homosexuals.
LEADERSHIP reports that the allegation generated uproar in the state, leading to the cleric’s invitation by the Bauchi State Shariah Commission to give evidence of the claim.
Following the invitation by the commission, Gadon Kaya came out in a viral Facebook video monitored by our correspondent on Wednesday, debunking his previous allegations.
According to him, security agents had conducted thorough investigations on the matter but found it to be false.
He begged the Bauchi State government and security agencies for the misinformation, stressing that he was misled by someone whose identity he declined to reveal.
“I apologise to the government of Bauchi State and the security agents; and I want to state that I did not mean to hurt anyone with that misinformation. In the course of preaching, one may say something correctly or incorrectly at times”, he said.
Davis Mac-Iyalla, Executive Director, Interfaith Diversity Network said, “I am glad he has apologies after being found out for speaking dangerous rumours against the LGBT+ community and their allies but I believe he should have gone further to preach tolerance and inclusion. Many LGBT+ Nigerians have been violently attacked and some forced to flee the country as a direct result of fake rumours like this from religious and traditional leaders. fearing for their safety and security.
IDNOWA will continue to work with stakeholders and state actors advocating for the human rights and freedom of LGBT+ people in Nigeria, and West African in general.
IDNOWA visit The Netherlands
The executive director of IDNOWA and some members were invited by its partners , the Protestant Church in The Netherlands one a week. The purpose of the visit is an exchange program with the aim to meet with different organisations and inform relevant bodies of the Protestant church as well as the general public in the Netherlands about the threatening human rights situation of LGBTIQ people in Ghana, and Nigeria. A second purpose is to improve the partnership between Kerk in Actie and the Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA).
During the visits the IDNOWA team met with the religious, parliamentarians and several civil society organizations.
Davis Mac-Iyalla preached an amazing sermon on Sunday 15th September at Nieuwe Kerk, Groningen. He centred his message on Dead Faith and Suffering and encouraged the congregation to use their faith to reshape the world around them by speaking out against all forms of injustice and discrimination.
Rightify Ghana’s Director meeting with The Pope
On Tuesday, August 14, 2024, Rightify Ghana’s Director had the honour of meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican.
With LGBTQI+ criminalisation rising in Africa, and Ghana’s anti-LGBTQI+ bill pending, we shared our experiences as queer individuals in Ghana and expressed gratitude to the Pope for his progressive stance, especially his opposition to violence and discrimination.
Pope Francis encouraged us to “keep fighting for your rights,” and that’s exactly what we will do.
We’re also grateful for the meaningful gifts we received—they will always hold a special place for us.
Nigeria-EU deal sparks false claims over LGBT rights
- Global disinformation team
- Originally posted on BBC News
LGBT people already live in fear in Nigeria, where same-sex relationships are illegal – now widespread misinformation about a European Union partnership pact has whipped up further hostility towards the community.
The Samoa Agreement – signed by Africa’s most-populous nation in June – is a co-operation deal between the EU and 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The 403-page pact does not mention LGBT rights or same-sex relationships at all – yet many Nigerians believe that by signing it the West African nation has automatically legalised same-sex relationships.
The claims went viral last week when a piece published by Nigeria’s Daily Trust newspaper falsely alleged that the agreement forced underdeveloped and developing countries to recognise LGBT rights as a condition “for getting financial and other supports from advanced societies”.
Even if the agreement referenced such rights, it would still be impossible for the provisions of any international agreement signed by Nigeria to automatically result in changing the law, Nigerian lawyer Ugo Egbujo explained
Under current legislation, adopted a decade ago, same-sex couples face up to 14 years in prison.
“The only way to domesticate a law is to bring it to the National Assembly, where members must deliberate and vote to adopt it. Without doing this, it isn’t a law nor is it justiciable nor enforceable,” Mr Egbujo told the BBC.
“We have clear legislation on same-sex marriage and since its establishment in 2014, it has not been touched. Signing a multilateral agreement will not automatically change that.”
Has the government reacted?
Yes, it says it would never compromise its anti-LGBT laws and that it signed the agreement to boost the country’s economic development.
The Nigerian Bar Association has also scotched rumours that there was a provision in the agreement requiring the country to accept LGBT rights as a pre-condition for a $150bn (£116bn) loan – adding there was no reference to any loans in the deal.
The EU confirmed to the BBC the deal did not include any dedicated funding for Nigeria but there was €150bn ($163bn, £126bn) available to Africa, under a scheme known as Global Gateway, aimed at boosting “smart, clean and secure links in the digital, transport, energy and climate-relevant sectors” and strengthening education.
Despite these clarifications, opposition supporters have weaponised the fake news to attack the government and to whip up anger around the contentious issues of religion, ethnicity and politics.
President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who are both Muslims, have been accused of betraying their religion.
The false story is trending across social media and has become the leading subject of debate for influencers and political commentators.
How has the LGBT community been affected?
Hate speech has increased, according to Bisola Akande, a senior programmes officer for a local LGBT group who requested her name be changed.
“We came under attack with our details posted online. We had to shut down our website and are trying to protect ourselves,” she told the BBC.
Wise, a human rights organisation based in the northern city of Kano, has been the subject of online attacks – forcing it to take down its website and lock its social media pages.
Social media accounts for staff have also been deactivated, protected or made private, one of its representatives told the BBC.
The fury against Wise has been prompted by footage resurfacing of one of its events held a few years ago at which an official belonging to the city’s Hisbah police, a unit which enforces Sharia or Islamic law, speaks in support of LGBT rights.
It has led to the official in question being arrested this week – despite his protestations that his remarks, made during an interview, were intended to be in support of women’s empowerment.
Female Nigerian TikTokers who post pictures of themselves with other women – even if a sister or friend – have also become the target of homophobic abuse with derisive comments condemning their supposed sexual orientation.
When were concerns about the deal first raised?
It can be traced back to lawyer Sonnie Ekwowusi, who wrote an opinion article in Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper last November urging the Nigerian government not to sign the Samoa Agreement, calling it “the deceptively and euphemistically crafted LGBT agreement between the EU and ACP [African, Caribbean and Pacific] countries”.
The EU admitted there were concerns about LGBT issues when about 30 countries, mostly African and Caribbean nations, including Nigeria, initially failed to sign the pact last year.
They had wanted to check whether the deal “would be compatible with their legal order, notably as regards same-sex relations and sexual health and rights”, the EU said.
“This move surprised several commentators, as the wording on these topics does not go beyond existing international agreements,” an EU parliament briefing document published in December said.
In fact “as a matter of compromise” it had been agreed that signatories would commit to the implementation of existing international agreements as some African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states had been “reluctant to see the foundation agreement mention sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTI rights)”, it continued.
The Nigerian government went on to study the wording and agreed – saying in a declaration that it was consistent with Nigeria’s laws and other commitments.
Nigeria’s economic planning minister explained the Samoa Agreement had been signed on 28 June 2024 after being subject to extensive reviews and consultations by the country’s inter-ministerial committee.
Did this satisfy the critics?
No, Mr Ekwowusi reignited the flames of controversy several days later in his article published in the Daily Trust, which said that “certain articles of the agreement, especially articles 2.5 and 29.5, legalise LGBT, ‘transgenderism’, abortion, teen sexual abuse, and perversity in African countries”.
However, the content of these articles does not support this:
- Article 2.5 reads: “The Parties shall systematically promote a gender perspective and ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed across all policies.”
- Article 29.5 reads: “The Parties shall support universal access to sexual and reproductive health commodities and healthcare services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.”
In an interview with the BBC, Mr Ekwowusi maintained his allegations.
“Gender equality” was a euphemism used by the EU to encompass sexual and LGBT rights and “reproductive health” was a euphemism for abortion and contraceptives, he said.
He admitted the pact could not override Nigerian legislation, but suggested tighter language was needed.
“We are advocating that they put a definition clause so that we know what the terms are. Define gender, define gender equality, define sexual reproductive health,” Mr Ekwowusi said.
What is the Samoa Agreement?
It is a legal framework for relations between the EU, a major provider of development aid, and 79 members of the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
It lays down common principles for around two billion people around the world to address global challenges together.
Respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law constitute an essential element of the agreement, but it also encompasses areas like sustainable economic growth, climate change and migration.
The EU briefing document admitted that in some areas the wording fell short “of the EU negotiators’ ambitions”.
It replaces a previous EU partnership deal – the Cotonou Agreement – adopted in 2000 which aimed to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty.
Burkina Faso’s military junta to ban homosexual acts
IDNOWA members in Burkina Fasco are experiencing discrimination and hostility not only from service providers but also from family members and religious and traditional leaders.
by Richard Kagoe Original Article on BBC News
Burkina Faso’s military junta has announced a ban on homosexual acts, making it the latest African state to crack down on same-sex relations despite strong opposition from Western powers.
Homosexuality was frowned upon in the socially conservative West African state, but it was never outlawed.
Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said the junta’s cabinet had now approved legislation to make it a punishable offence, but he did not give further details.
The military seized power in Burkina Faso in 2022, and has pivoted towards Russia after drastically reducing ties with former colonial power, France.
Homosexual acts were decriminalised in Russia in 1993, but President Vladimir Putin’s government has been cracking down on the LGBTQ community, including banning what it calls “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”.
The doctor forced to fight jihadists in Burkina Faso
Nigeria-EU deal sparks false claims over LGBT rights
The Nigerian queer parties that offer liberation
Burkina Faso’s decision to outlaw homosexual relations is part of an overhaul of its marriage laws.
The new legislation, which still needs to be passed by the military-controlled parliament and signed off by junta leader Ibrahim Traoré, only recognises religious and customary marriages.
“Henceforth homosexuality and associated practices will be punished by the law,” the justice minister was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.
Capt Traoré took power in September 2022 after overthrowing another military ruler, Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba, accusing him of failing to quell an Islamist insurgency that has gripped Burkina Faso since 2015.
Burkina Faso was among 22 out of 54 African states where same-sex relations were not criminalised.
Unlike in many former British colonies, it did not inherit anti-homosexuality laws after independence from France in 1960.
Muslims make up around 64% of Burkina Faso’s population and Christians 26%. The remaining 10% of people follow traditional religions or have no faith.
Many African states have been taking a tougher stand against the LGBTQ community in recent years.
Uganda is among those that have adopted legislation recently to further crack down on the community, despite strong condemnation from local rights groups and Western powers.
In May, its Constitutional Court upheld a tough new anti-gay law that allows for the death penalty to be imposed for “aggravated homosexuality”, which includes having gay sex with someone below the age of 18 or where someone is infected with a life-long illness such as HIV.
Activists said they would appeal against the ruling.
The World Bank has halted new loans to President Yoweri Museveni’s government while the US has stopped giving Ugandan goods preferential access to its markets, following the adoption of the legislation last year.
Mr Museveni defended the legislation as preserving traditional family values, and said Uganda would not allow the West to dictate to it.
The daughter of Cameroon’s president drew mixed reaction after she came out as a lesbian last week.
Brenda Biya, who lives abroad, said she hoped that her coming out would help change the law banning same-sex relations in the country.
Cameroon has been ruled with an iron-hand by her 91-year-old father, Paul Biya, since 1982.
In Ghana, parliament passed a tough new bill in February that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+.
However, President Nana Akufo-Addo has not signed it into law, saying he will wait for the courts to rule on its constitutionality.
The finance ministry has warned him that if the bill became law, Ghana could lose $3.8bn (£3bn) in World Bank funding over the next five to six years.
Ghana is suffering a major economic crisis and received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year.
Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa 