Accra, Ghana//-The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa Office has called on the government as a matter of urgency to put in place appropriate and sustainable structures to cushion Ghanaians in the face of the current economic crisis.
According to the Accra-based CHRI, the rights of the ordinary man must be safeguarded in all policies, with no one left behind.
It made the call in a statement issued in Accra to mark this year’s International Human Rights Day on December 10.
December 10 every year is a day set aside by the global community to mark International Human Rights Day.
The statement said: “In the wake of the current economic crisis, it is important for governments not to lose sight of their responsibility to citizens to uphold and safeguard human rights when making and implementing policies”.
Ghana, like many other African countries has made some progress regarding protecting the human rights of its citizens however “we still have our work cut out for us as a nation since the current economic crisis threatens the full range of human rights”.
It threatens not only economic, social, and cultural rights, including the right to an adequate standard of living and the rights to health, housing, food, and education, but also civil and political rights, the statement added.
“We find ourselves in a predicament in which more and more people are finding it difficult to even afford three square meals a day, which directly impacts on the dignity of a person.
Businesses are closing and unemployment rates are skyrocketing. In finding solutions to these problems, the Government must ensure that policies are human rights oriented”.
The Africa Office used the day to remind the Government of Ghana of its obligations to Ghanaians to ensure that dignity and freedoms of people are protected.
Government must implement policies to ensure that there is justice available and accessible to all Ghanaians, it stressed.
The CHRI quoted a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay who once noted: “States can neither waive nor limit their obligation of upholding civil, cultural, economic, political and social human rights in times of crisis.
Rather, by fully integrating human rights principles and standards into law and practice are governments able to respond to an economic downturn in a truly sustainable manner…” to buttress their argument.
“Let us, as Ghanaians and by extension Africans, hold hands and strive together to ensure that DIGNITY, FREEDOM and JUSTICE FOR ALL becomes a reality in Africa regardless of the economic turmoil”, the CHRI said.
The Africa Office of the CHRI also congratulated Civil Society Organisations and human rights activists who continue to work tirelessly to promote Human rights in our society.
This year’s theme-“Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All”, they believe is apt because of the global economic downturn they find themselves in.
The theme is also significant for African countries, especially those in the Commonwealth such as Ghana, South Africa and Zambia which are due for review in January next year at the 42nd session of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on implementation of recommendations they accepted in 2012, many of which align with this year’s theme.
“It is an opportunity for the Government of Ghana to rethink and up its game in terms of complying with human rights obligations, particularly those related to economic and social rights. It also provides an opportunity to rethink governance and accountability both at the national and global level”.
