Commemoration of World Human Rights Day: Advocates call for increased press freedom, protection of rights
The World Human Rights Day has been commemorated in Accra with a call for improvement in press freedom and the protection of the rights of the poor, vulnerable and marginalised in the country.
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Promotion of freedom of speech, they said, would, among others, improve the nation's rankings on the press freedom index.
The advocates included the Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Joseph Whittal; the UN Resident Coordinator, Charles Abani, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Telecoms, Dr Ken Ashigbey.
December 10 each year is set aside for the commemoration of the day. However, the country celebrated the event in Accra yesterday, December 11, 2023.
This year's edition marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a landmark document that sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
Although the global theme was “Freedom, equality and justice for all,” the local theme was “The 75th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights: Implications for human rights protection in Ghana.”
As part of activities to mark the day, the CHRAJ, with support from the UN, organised a roundtable discussion in Accra that was attended by key stakeholders and human rights advocates to access the country’s human rights record and make projections for the future.
More room for improvement
Mr Whittal said the country had made some remarkable gains in human rights protection and promotion yet “there remains significant room for improvement”.
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He said much needed to be done to protect the rights of the poor, the vulnerable and marginalised, including women and children, older persons, persons living with and affected by HIV/TB and persons with disability.
Participants in the event
The commissioner also said that journalists in the country must feel free to practise their trade without fear of being attacked or harmed, adding that both public and private business owners did their businesses legally while respecting the rights of all persons who would be affected by their operations.
Robust legal regime
The Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister of Justice, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, said the country had over the years adopted robust legal regimes and institutional frameworks to address some challenges that hindered the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms.
He urged companies to respect the rights of humans not only by desisting from causing or contributing to adverse human rights impact, but human rights abuses as well.
“The corporate responsibility to respect human rights requires companies to put in place human rights due diligence in order to identify, address and mitigate its impact that may occur in their businesses,” the deputy minister added.
He further said that a steering committee had been established to develop a national action plan of business and human rights in the country.
Responsibility
The UN Resident Coordinator, Charles Abani, said it was the duty of every country to promote and protect the fundamental human rights and freedoms of its individuals, regardless of their political, economic and cultural background.
He commended Ghana for the steps taken to abolish the death penalty and witches camps and expressed the hope that the rights of all individuals would be protected.
Mr Abani urged stakeholders to create an ecosystem that would enable individuals to speak against human rights abuses.
For his part, Dr Ashigbey said it was the role of the private sector to support and encourage open dialogue, respect diversity of opinions and protect journalists and media workers from unwarranted threats and attacks.