ABERDEEN University has been told it must press the president of Ghana on his human rights record when he receives an honorary doctorate today.
The university said the degree was because of John Dramani Mahama’s work on child poverty and the fight against Ebola. But students in the university’s LGBT+ society pointed out that men can still be sentenced to three years in jail for homosexuality.
Amnesty International said the country’s record on human rights was poor with torture and violence against women still commonplace. President Mahama is part of delegation visiting Scotland in a bid to improve trade links between the two countries. Yesterday he was given a polite, if muted, round of applause from MSPs as he took his seat in Holyrood’s public gallery to watch First Minister’s Questions.
Though the president met the First Minister and presiding officer, a planned meeting with opposition leaders was cancelled.
A spokesman for Nicola Sturgeon said the First Minister would talk to Mahama about equality.
Naomi McAuliffe, Amnesty International’s programme director in Scotland, said it was important the meeting between the First Minister and the president went ahead. Such a discussion was “an opportunity to raise our concerns about Ghana’s poor human rights record. Issues include LGBT+ discrimination and the use of torture.”
She added: “There are serious human rights violations in Ghana: police and intelligence services use torture and other ill-treatment against citizens and Amnesty International has recorded several cases of excessive force. Repressive attitudes towards LGBT+ Ghanaians mean they are vulnerable to discrimination and physical attacks. Consensual same-sex conduct between men is a criminal offence and we have received reports that LGBT+ people face police harassment.”
A University of Aberdeen spokesman said: “The decision to confer an honorary degree on the president of Ghana followed detailed consideration by the university’s honorary degrees committee, and was approved by our academic Senate. This took into account a number of factors including his work on child poverty and children’s rights and our large Ghanaian student and graduate population.”
In a statement, Aberdeen University’s LGBT+ society said the president should receive some credit for speaking out against homophobic violence.
The students added Mahama has: “raised voice against violence against LGBT+ people before. It is our strong desire that the president could champion the cause of disadvantaged minorities further by providing a voice against groups that continues to obstruct equality and social justice in Ghanaian society.”
MSP John Finnie tabled a motion at Holyrood claiming the president had supported “discriminatory laws and relentless persecution” of LGBT+ people in Ghana.
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