At the core of the human rights discourse is the protection and enhancement of human dignity.
Travelling on the Accra to Cape Coast road, especially on the stretch from Kasoa to Winneba last week, has exposed the illusory aspect of this pivotal role of the right to life.
From its initial conception as a right not to be arbitrarily deprived of one’s life, the right to life has undergone an expansive interpretation to include the things that promote human dignity.
Road travel on this stretch is not a dignified activity.
Driving on this apology for a road, from Accra to one of the foremost tourist areas of the country, has become a nightmare.
What with dodging potholes, riding on uneven surfaces with its attendant bone-shaking assault on the body, to inhaling environmentally noxious dust, you come out at the other end physically shaken and emotionally scarred.
What is baffling is the fact that the contractor decided to rip up the whole stretch of existing tarmac all the way to Winneba as against constructing the road in phases.
The received wisdom in road construction, manifested in other jurisdictions and steeped in best practice, is either to construct a new road parallel to the existing road or construct a new road in phases.
Neither of these options was considered, with the unpleasant result that the whole stretch has become unmotorable.
As well as the health hazards endured (severe back pain due to jolting for several hours over the uneven surfaces and the inhalation of dust particles), the journey itself (from Accra to Winneba) took over 3 hours - a distance which, in the past, took one hour.
What is remarkable is that nobody complains.
Drivers and commuters alike endure these inhumane conditions.
By all means, we are all grateful for the reconstruction of the road but why should we suffer such inconvenience and health-threatening consequences?
Lethargic response
This lethargic response is very wrong as the right to a decent motorable road network is in violation of the wider ambit of the right to life.
This is because the right to life is a prerequisite to the enjoyment of ALL other rights.
The right to life is underpinned by the general acceptance in International Human Rights Law that every human being has a right to live in dignity.
The right to life features prominently in all major United Nations treaties as well as regional ones, including our own African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, Article 4.
The right to life enjoins the state not only to refrain from the intentional and unlawful taking of life but also to take appropriate measures to safeguard the lives of everyone.
This can extend to a positive obligation on the state to take preventive measures to protect individuals whose lives are at risk.
Who was monitoring the contractor when a blast last year killed three people?
How many people have been hospitalised like my colleague lawyer due to the inhalation of dust?
Whilst the traditional view of the ambit of the right to life has been the state’s obligation to protect life, there is developing a new trend in its interpretation which has seen an inexorable expansion. The Supreme Court of India has taken this expansive interpretation of the right to life to a different level.
Cases like Maneka Ghandi vs Union of India - right to livelihood and dignified life; Mehta vs Union of India - right to a safe environment, have seen the expansion of the frontiers of the right to life.
The High Court of Karnataka in India went for the jugular and has specifically ruled that good roads are a fundamental right of citizens under the right to life.
The court ordered that roads in Bengaluru must be free of potholes.
A good road network contributes not only to the right to life by promoting health and safety but also ensures economic well-being.
There is a strong positive correlation between a country’s economic development and the quality of its road network.
Due to the current appalling state of the road, visitors to the tourist hubs of Cape Coast and the Western Region have dropped greatly.
The time wasted by goods vehicles as they encounter diversions and traffic jams will eventually be passed on as higher prices to the consumer.
This calls for urgent remedial action by the state which has the obligation to respect, protect, promote and fulfil human rights which enjoy an entrenched status in Chapter 5 of the Constitution. Adieu!
