Ghana commended for human rights record

The Ambassador of Denmark to Ghana, Ms Tove Degnbol, has commended Ghana for its enviable track record in protecting the rights of citizens.

“Ghana has a good track record on human rights, but all countries can improve,” she said.

Ms Degnbol was speaking at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) conference organised by the Perfector of Sentiments (POS) Foundation, a human rights Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Accra last Thursday.

Ghana and Denmark are both signatories to the United Nations (UN) Convention against torture and part of the core group of the convention against torture initiative, with Ghana representing Africa and Denmark representing Europe.

Ms Degnbol said Denmark was pleased to support the Ghana Human NGOs forum through the POS Foundation, to organise the UPR processes in Ghana.

She said it was an opportunity for the government to demonstrate actions taken so far in order to improve the human rights situation in Ghana.

Ms Degnbol said the platform was important since it would allow for the discussion of issues that were outstanding in Ghana.

“I congratulate the POS Foundation and the Ghana Human Rights NGOs forum on collaborating with the government of Ghana to review the state of human rights in the country through the UPR. It is an opportunity for the government to demonstrate actions taken so far and the way forward,” she said.

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POS Foundation

The Executive Director of the POS Foundation, Mr Jonathan Osei Owusu, called on the government to implement recommendations on human rights.

He said in reaction to the 2012 report, Ghana received 150 recommendations from 63 states and indicated that out of them, 125 were accepted by the country.   

“Ghana has all the laws and recommendations. However, implementation has always been a problem, hence the need for the meeting to assess whether the recommendations made in the 2012 review are being enforced and if the government is doing the right thing and putting in place the right mechanisms to address human rights issues,” he added.

He advised the public to refrain from infringing on the rights of people, irrespective of their status.

“If someone is gay, it may not be acceptable, but it does not give people the right to trample on him; they may be violating that person’s human rights,” he said.

The Queenmother of Dodowa, Naya Yopeyo Dadetsu, who chaired the event, said in spite of the huge successes Ghana had chalked up in democratic governance, there was still more to be done in the area of human rights.

“Where one’s right ends, another’s begins and so it becomes imperative to treat everyone fairly, regardless of class or status,” she added.