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COMMENTARY: ‘Little that is genuinely African’ at African Family Values conference
Alban Bagbin, the speaker of Ghana’s parliament, announces the suspension of proceedings from June 3 to 6 to allow parliament members to attend the 4th African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family and Sovereignty, which will be held in the Parliamentary Chamber.The LGBTQ rights advocacy group Rightify Ghana commented:As the Parliament of Ghana hosts the 4th African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty in Accra from June 3–6, 2026, it is important to be clear about one thing: there is very little that is genuinely African about this initiative.The conference traces its origins to efforts led by Sharon Slater and the US-based Family Watch International, which convened lawmakers such as Sam George around a “family values” agenda in 2022 in Utah, USA, before the conference was relocated to Uganda, where it was held from 2023 to 2025.This year, the conference has been brought to Ghana and is being used to advance the proposed African Charter on Family Values and Sovereignty. Despite being framed as an African response to foreign influence, the conference itself has been heavily influenced and supported by foreign conservative actors, including Family Watch International in the United States and Christian Council International, a Netherlands-based organisation led by Henk Jan van Schothorst.Human rights advocates have raised concerns that both the conference and the proposed Charter threaten established human rights protections across Africa, including women’s rights, LGBTQI+ rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), civic freedoms, and decades of progress in public health, including efforts to end HIV and AIDS.The conference has also served as a platform for promoting anti-LGBTQ legislation across the continent. Several lawmakers who have participated in these networks have returned home advocating for restrictive laws targeting LGBTQI+ people, civil society organisations, human rights defenders, educators, healthcare providers, and public health programmes.This is not a story about protecting African values from foreign influence. Rather, it raises important questions about the growing role of foreign conservative networks in shaping laws and policies across Africa. Imported hate does not become African simply because it is repackaged in the language of culture, sovereignty, or family values.Rightify added:This is imported hate. They bring the conferences to recruit local MPs to support their anti-rights/ anti-LGBTQ / anti-women’s rights agenda, then resource them with networks, narratives, draft laws & policies, and get [anti-LGBTQ bills] passed.And:People claiming to be protecting African Family Values are being lectured by Western / US evangelicals, right-wing groups on what should be African Family Values.See Also
And:Parliament belongs to all Ghanaians. It should not be used to host conferences that seek to marginalise minorities, undermine women’s rights, restrict civic participation, weaken public health responses, or roll back hard-won human rights gains.The LGBTQ rights group JustRight Ghana agrees:The agenda for the 4th African InterParliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty and Values in Accra is out. This is a coordinated effort to build consensus around policies that will roll back human rights protections across the continent.And:The anti-rights movement has arrived in Accra. Behind closed doors, powerful actors are gathering to undermine decades of progress on women’s rights, bodily autonomy, and reproductive justice across Africa.
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