By: Naomi Komeh
The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Jeroen Verheul, has stressed the need for the implementation of laws to ensure the country moves ahead as the world changes.
He said Ghana has come far on human rights as it has ratified several international human rights instruments and protocols and has also promulgated local laws to safeguard fundamental human rights, but it can do more by ensuring their implementation.
Ambassador Verheul who was speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop for validation and submission of Civil Society Organisations (CSO’s) shadow reports under the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Mechanism-Ghana 4th cycle, said laws and instruments ratified are implemented to safeguard, protect and promote human rights in the country.
Ambassador Verheul noted that “over the previous Universal Periodic Review, UPR cycles, the number of recommendations accepted by Ghana has increased.
From the statistics, Ghana accepted 123 recommendations in 2012 and 212 recommendations in 2017.
While acceptance of the recommendations is important, implementation of the same constitutes a prerequisite for successful results in tangible human rights improvement in the country.
He said some of the recommendations have also almost become repetitive over the various cycles since 2008, and this he said is due to non-implementation of accepted recommendations, adding that a focus on implementation would avoid such a situation.
Mr Verheul commended government for the respect it attaches to human rights, which goes hand in hand with the strong democratic credentials Ghana is known for.
UNICEF Country Representative, Anne-Claire Dufay, said even though Ghana has made significant progress in promoting human rights, more needs to be done.
She urged government to intensify efforts to end all forms of gender-based violence against women and children, and harmful practices such as child marriage, and ensure the alignment of several existing laws with international conventions that the country acceded to, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill.
Executive Director, POS Foundation, Johnathan Osei Owusu said the validation workshop is part of the preparatory phase towards the UPR, which offers CSO’S the opportunity to ensure that developed shadow reports are duly vetted and fact checked before they are submitted to the UNHRC for attention.
The UPR is a State-driven process which reviews the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States once every five years, providing an opportunity for States to demonstrate what actions they had taken to improve their human rights situation under the same rules and supervision.
