Ghana’s Human Right report to UN must include violations in extractive sector-CSOs
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Ghana omitting human rights abuse in extractive sector from UN report
The civil society organizations led by the Kasa Platform Ghana noted that since Ghana signed up to the UPR report in 2008, Ghana has consistently excluded infringements on human rights and brutalities meted out to persons working in the extractive sector.
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A total of some 18 civil society and non-governmental organizations at a national workshop have called on the government of Ghana to include human right violations in the extractive sector in the Ghana’s human right report to the United Nations.
This according to them will force Ghana to take conscious effort to stop the brutalities and human right violations meted out to persons in the extractive sector.
Ghana is a signatory to the United Nations Universal Periodic Report UPR which requires Ghana to in every four years report the Human Right situation in the country to the United Nations.
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The civil society organizations led by the Kasa Platform Ghana noted that since Ghana signed up to the UPR report in 2008, Ghana has consistently excluded infringements on human rights and brutalities meted out to persons working in the extractive sector.
This according to the national coordinator for the Integrated Social Development Center ISODEC, Dr. Emmanuel Steve Asare Manteaw is against the principles and rationale behind the preparations of such important and useful human right report and if not checked will lead to violations of human rights on a large scale.
He said, “in July 13 2005, for instance, [three years to the preparation of the 2008 UPR], Ghana’s report did not capture the brutalities by the military who opened fire on demonstrators, shot and wounded 7 people in Prestea. In November 2, 2005, some farmers embarked on a demonstration against Newmont Akyim Mine in demand for fair and adequate compensation. The report did not also capture the police who in response to the demonstration opened fire on the demonstrators which killed two persons”
He added that “there have been several reported incidents of wanton destruction of fishing gears by supply vessels supplying logistics to the FPSO. “The irony is that, even though these incidents were properly documented, Ghana’s report on the human right situation did not capture even one of them”. Dr. Manteaw bemoaned.“This way, people will be mindful of the infringements on human rights in the sector and also send a strong signal that people’s fundamental human rights including the right to life cannot be taken away because of people’s desire to extract the resources”. He added.
In conclusion, participants of the workshop in a communiqué noted that they will be “keenly monitoring what goes into the 2016 country report as we also call on the body in charge of the report to do a wider consultation on what goes into the report”.
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Other participants of the national workshop were representatives from the Media Foundation for West Africa, Forestry Watch Ghana, Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining Wacam, Care International Ghana, Northern Ghana Development Network, Western Region Development NGOs WERENGO, Center for Public Interest Law CEPIL, Media Alliance for Environmental Advocate Tamale, Brong Ahafo NGOs Bango, traditional authorities, youth groups and other civil society organizations.
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