Why Ghana cannot boast of a robust disability law
Following a detailed consultation initiated on December 19, 2001, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) on December 13, 2006.
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The Convention came into force on May 3, 2008 on receiving its 20th ratification.
Before Ghana’s ratification of the UNCRPD, the country by then had already enacted the Persons With Disabilities (PWD) Act in 2006 in fulfillment of the protection of certain fundamental human rights guaranteed to PWDs under the 1992 Constitution.
Ghana, in March 2007, signed the UNCRPD, and in August 2012 ratified it and became the 119th country in the world to ratify the Convention.
In view of that, the ratification of the UNCRPD by Ghana further demonstrates a significant step towards upholding and protecting the human rights of the more than five million PWDs living in the country who account for one-fifth of the country’s population.
Persons with Disability
The PWD Act establishes a National Council on Persons with Disabilities (NCRPD) with the core mandate of proposing and evolving policies and strategies that would enable PWDs enter and participate in the mainstream of the national development process.
Its primary responsibility is to monitor and evaluate disability policies and programmes, formulate strategies for broad-based inter-sectoral, interdisciplinary involvement and participation in the implementation of the national disability policy.
It is also to advise the ministry on disability issues and submit to the minister proposals for appropriate legislation on disability, mobilise resources for the attainment of its objectives, coordinate activities of organisations of PWDs, international organisations and non-governmental organisations that deal with disability, among others.
Background
The global and international law context within which the UNCRPD was agreed to can be gleaned principally from (a) the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in all other International Covenants on Human Rights and equal opportunities, all of which recognise the inherent dignity and worth and the equal and inalienable rights, without distinction of any kind, of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, and (b) the global recognition of the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and especially, the need for PWDs to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without discrimination.
International Law
Considering the fact that Ghana is a vibrant actor in the comity of nations, the PWD Act could not have been enacted without considering international legal principles governing the protection of the rights of the disabled.
Thus, although the PWD Act was enacted at a time the UNCRPD and its accompanying Protocol was not adopted and/or assented to or otherwise ratified by any member of the international community, the enactment of the Act, in addition to the mandatory constitutional requirements, was highly influenced by existing global discourse on the urgency for protecting disability rights at the time.
Having now ratified the UNCRPD and its accompanying Protocol, one critical issue that shall be considered in the body of this report is whether Ghana is under obligation to review its PWD Act in strict conformity with the provisions of the UNCRPD (to be discussed infra).
Evaluation
In terms of conformity to disability rights guaranteed under the UNCRPD, the PWD Act is analysed within the general ambit of Ghana’s international obligations imposed under the UNCRPD and for some, are making some progress to consolidate in their domestic legal regimes either through national legislations or interpretation of the courts (national or regional) and other judicial tribunals.
This analysis is done with the comprehensiveness and depth of the PWD Act, its clarity and internal coherence or consistency, as well as the extent to which it takes account of the general welfare of PWDs.
In general, the PWD Act is strikingly comprehensive in its coverage of areas of welfare enhancement of disabled persons to the neglect of some of the most important provisions enshrined in the UNCRPD.
Thus, it is refreshing to observe that the PWD Act lays particular emphasis on access to public services and other fundamental rights of the disabled specifically enshrined under Article 29 of the 1992 Constitution and several provisions of the UNCRPD, including “equality and non-discrimination” under Article 5, “Accessibility” to public places and services under Article 9, “freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse” under Article 16, freedom to live independently and included in the community under Article 19, “personal mobility” among others.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Based on the analysis, it is apposite to emphasise that the PWD Act, in its current form, requires some amendment or review to fill in the gaps and put it in total conformity with the UNCRPD.
In amending or reviewing the Act, it is recommended that the drafters of a new Act should take account of those provisions of the UNCRPD which have either not been provided for in the Act at all or where provided, are not laborious enough to give complete effect to similar provisions in the UNCRPD. For instance, the Act should be redrafted to take account of the following provisions of the UNCRPD:
The rights of “women with disabilities”, the rights of “children with disabilities”, the inherent “right to life”, right to protection and safety in “situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies”, right to “equal recognition before the law” and the “liberty and security of person”.
In conclusion, this statement is adding up to the call by the Disability Right Fund (DFR) Coalition whose membership comprises the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, Media Caucus on Disability and MindFreedom on government to review the PWD Act. GNA
