It is therefore celebrating all human rights activists who are working to reduce inequalities in their society especially in this era of the COVID 19 Pandemic.
This is contained in a statement issued by the CHRI Africa Office in Accra to mark the day which is on the theme-‘EQUALITY: Reducing Inequalities, Advancing Human Rights’.
The statement said the theme resonates with CHRI’s vision of ensuring the practical realization of human rights. “We, at the Africa Office want to focus on Access to Justice, one of our thematic areas where we are currently working on “Decriminalizing Poverty by Advocating for the Decriminalization of Petty Offences in Africa” as part of a Regional campaign to reform laws that disproportionately target the poor and vulnerable, infringe on their rights, dignity and perpetuate inequality in the justice sector”.
The SDGs have provided targets for governments to address extreme poverty.Governments have a responsibility to end poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030, particularly by ensuring that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources.
Therefore, targeting the poor and marginalised persons for the enforcement of petty and trivial offences such as life sustaining activities are contrary to the SDGs, especially goal 10 which talks about “Reducing Inequality within and among, countries”.
“ The rights of persons must be respected to ensure their well- being. All manner of persons must be treated equally and given equal opportunities without discrimination, regardless their color, race, religion, sex or social origin to advance human rights. Petty offences laws unfairly target the poor by reason of their socioeconomic status and perpetuate a system of unequal justice before the law”, it reads.
Ghana like many African countries has laws in its Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 30) that criminalise petty offences such as common nuisance, idle and disorderly behavior, loitering, being a vagrant, penalizing conduct related to the performance of life-sustaining activities in public spaces such as arresting street traders for hawking/vending and other life sustaining activities etc.
These laws are vague, arbitrary and highly dependent on police discretion for arrest. The offences indicated by their nature target the poor and marginalized, who indulge in such line of work just to earn an income, according to the statement.
“Fortunately for us on the African continent, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights has developed guidelines “The Principles on the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa” (The Principles) to “guide states on measures that can be taken to enhance human rights protections at the critical intersection of poverty and criminal justice”.
It is in light of the above that on this special day, we reaffirm our commitment to work for the promotion of human rights with emphasis on equality of all as enshrined in Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), African Commission on Human and People’s Right (ACHPR) and in Article 17 of the Constitution of Ghana”.
It therefore urged the Government of Ghana and all countries signed unto the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (AChHPR) to follow suit in implementing “the Principles on the Decriminalization of Petty Offences in Africa” to promote a level playing field in justice delivery.
:As we celebrate this occasion, let us remind ourselves of the need to appreciate the importance of human rights for the enhancement and promotion of justice delivery in our country. Let us all ensure that all persons are given equal treatment and equal opportunities to advance human rights”.
African Eye Report