2021 Human Rights Report on Ghana is rubbish — Aning
Prof. Kwesi Aning, the Director, Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre has described the 2021 Human Rights report on Ghana as rubbish.
Prof. Kwesi Aning, the Director, Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre has described the 2021 Human Rights report on Ghana as rubbish.
He urged Ghanaians to treat the report with the contempt it deserves.
In an interview on TV3, Prof. Aning said Ghana does not need the US State Department to speak on its behalf on the governance and things that happen in the country.
"Were you to put 20 Ghanaian scholars and human rights activists together we can write the worst report about the United States. So this report to me is rubbish and I think it should be treated with the contempt that it deserves. After almost 62 years of independence, we can write our own report.
"We have a vibrant civil society, we have a Parliament irrespective of its problems or weaknesses, we have a judiciary that we can criticize. A whole Minister made suggestions about how judicial decisions can lead to certain problems," he said.
"We don't need the State Department to tell what we are doing right or wrong. So I think we should dismiss this report with the contempt that it deserves. I think after all these years of independence we should be bold and tell them that this is not right," he added.
The 2021 Ghana Human Rights report indicated that the judiciary in Ghana was subject to unlawful influence and corruption.
According to the U.S. Department of State's 2021 Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released on April 12, 2022, "While the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary was subject to unlawful influence and corruption."
It also stated that even though Ghana's law provides criminal penalties for corruption by government officials, "the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity."
"There were numerous reports of government corruption," the report said.
It indicated that torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees remain prevalent in the Ghana Police Service.
"While the constitution and law prohibit such practices, there were credible reports police beat and otherwise abused detained suspects and other citizens," the report stated.
Read the full report here:
