Ghana parliament pledges to champion human rights  

A two-day Inter-Parliamentary Union workshop on promoting human and children’s rights in Ghana opened on Tuesday in Accra with speakers issuing a call to action, emphasizing parliamentarians’ critical role in promoting and protecting human rights.  

Mr. Ernest Anim, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Human Rights, addressing participants, highlighted the importance of tangible action in advancing human rights.   

He said, “Our work must translate into tangible improvements, better laws, and better outcomes.”  

Mr. Anim, also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumawu, emphasized the need for partnership and collaboration between parliamentarians, development partners, and civil society to promote human rights, particularly for the most vulnerable members of society.  

He advocated the importance of prioritizing the most vulnerable members of society, including children, women, and individuals with mental health conditions.   

“As the Parliament of Ghana continues its journey to advance human rights, our engagement today serves as a powerful reminder of the crucial role parliamentarians play in giving meaning to rights and holding duty-bearers accountable,” Mr. Anim said.  

The two-day Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) hybrid workshop scheduled for Tuesday, June 24, to Wednesday, June 25, is on the theme “Promoting Human and Children’s Rights: The Role of the Ninth Parliament of Ghana.”  

It is organized by the Committee on Human Rights for eight Committees in the Legal Cluster and the Committee on Education, Employment, Labor Relations and Pensions, and Gender, Children, and Social Welfare.  

The workshop has the goal of introducing new MPs to the scope and responsibilities of their mandate, with particular focus on human rights; raising awareness of human rights principles and Parliament’s role in promoting them; informing participants about the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, and about the importance of parliamentary engagement throughout the review cycle.  

Others are to explore avenues for the Parliament of Ghana to contribute to the implementation of UPR recommendations contained in the 2023 review and strengthen parliamentary efforts to combat child trafficking and child labour.   

Mr. Miguel Akiyo Afouda, Senior Programme Officer Governance, IPU, highlighted Ghana’s strong legal foundation for protecting human rights. “Ghana’s comprehensive constitution and laws provide a solid basis for safeguarding human rights, particularly for children,” he noted.   

He also emphasized the unique position of parliamentarians in promoting and protecting human rights through oversight, accountability, and decision-making.  

Mr. Akiyo Afouda also shared values such as unity in purpose and safeguarding the well-being of every individual.  

In a show of commitment, he pledged IPU’s dedication to supporting the Parliament of Ghana in promoting and protecting human rights.   

“We look forward to supporting the implementation of the workshop’s outcomes and promoting human rights in Ghana,” he stated.  

Mr. Bernard Ahiafor, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said Ghana’s Eighth Parliament demonstrated a strong commitment to the UPR process.   

“Having participated in an IPU briefing session on the UPR, Speaker Alban S.K. Bagbin pledged to ensure Parliament’s active involvement in the process.  

“As a result, Ghana’s UPR report, reviewed in January 2023, included a contribution by parliament, and a parliamentary delegation participated in that Geneva session. Subsequently, Ghana’s parliamentary leadership called for continued IPU support in implementing the UPR recommendations,” he said.  

Discussions included Parliament’s role and function in the promotion of human rights; the United Nations HRC and the UPR; Ghana’s UPR process: lessons learned and way forward; Promoting strategies to support the implementation of the UPR recommendations and promoting the rights of the child in Ghana.  

The rest were Addressing Child Labor and Trafficking: The Role of Parliament; Strengthening multi-stakeholder cooperation on the rights of the child and identifying parliamentary priorities and next steps.  

The workshop brought together MPs, in particular those serving on the Human Rights Committee; parliamentary staff; representatives from the executive; the National Human Rights Commission of Ghana; and civil society organizations active in the field of human and children’s rights.  

Source: GNA  

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