Operate in accordance with Constitution - state institutions urged

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Hanna Tetteh, has called on state institutions to operate within the confines of the Constitution.

She said that was a basic requirement to promote national integration and create a conducive atmosphere for peaceful co-existence.

“Our national institutions established under the Constitution are called upon to abide by the tenets and principles that are contained in the Constitution. This is the surest way to build a peaceful and a stable country,” she said. 

Seminar

The call was contained in a speech read on her behalf by the Deputy Minister of that sector, Mr Emmanuel Habuka Bombande, at the opening session of a 10-day seminar on international law at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra yesterday.

The 30 participants are lawyers from government institutions drawn from 20 African countries, including Ghana. 

They will be required to study courses relating to internal law on investment, international migration, bilateral trade, humanitarian law, criminal law and territorial security.

It is being held under the auspices of the African Institute of International Law, with the objective of building the capacity of the African legal community to be abreast of the international legal environment.

Capacity building

Ms Tetteh also observed that the increasing trend of globalisation required countries in Africa to invest in building the capacity of their human resource to be abreast of legalities in the international arena to promote international relations.

She said a firm grasp of international law would enhance Ghana’s cooperation with the international community in the area of international migration.

“Knowledge about international law is critical to building peace and security at the regional and international levels. The settlement of international disputes and the promotion of a better understanding among the people of the world are made possible through a grasp of the tenets of international law,” she stressed.

Ms Tetteh urged lawyers, arbitrators and other experts to participate in seminars on law to be abreast of the legal environment in order to facilitate the settling of disputes to promote international peace.

‘Incorporate culture’

Speaking to the Daily Graphic later, Mr Bombande said Ghana’s foreign policy was anchored around the promotion of peace and stability, for which reason it was important for discussions on peace to incorporate issues of international human rights.

He said the Ghanaian culture, which rested on consensus building, ought to be adopted and incorporated into state institutions to resolve local conflicts.

“It is important for institutions such as the Electoral Commission, Parliament and even community institutions to embrace dialogue within the context of our culture to resolve conflicts,” he emphasised.

Prioritise conflict prevention

The Commandant of the KAIPTC, Air Vice-Marshal Griffiths Santrofie Evans, for his part, said safeguarding the peace and security of the country was key to national development.

In that regard, he called for priority to be put on conflict prevention, rather than conflict management, since the latter was costly.

He said traditional conflict prevention experts ought to be engaged to facilitate the process of peace building.

The Rector of the African Institute for International Law, Ambassador Sani Mohammed, asked African Law faculties and experts to revise their operations and scope of study to meet modern demands.

He urged African countries to help build the capacity of their human resource through scholarships and support programmes.