Accept reports of human rights abuse in Ghana in good faith – Lanchene Toobu
The lawmaker for the Wa West Constituency Peter Toobu in expressing his thoughts on the recent United States 2021 annual country report on human rights infractions has advised that there is no need for Ghana to reject or politicize it.
The report which some security experts are not enthused about cited Ghana for several human rights cases of abuse including clamping down on free speech, politically motivated killing, inhumane treatments, arbitrary arrests, and denial of fair trial among others.
Mr Toobu, who is a former police officer sees the content of the report as extremely crucial and that efforts must be made to correct the negative image of Ghana.
According to him, the report said nothing new except to collate various abuses that have been reported in Ghana over a given period.
“The picture the report painted is unfortunately actually what the situation in Ghana is. It’s a damning report and very challenging. For me, the government should take it in good faith rather than politicizing it”, he said
The report highlighted works by the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) in addressing issues such as rape and domestic violence but said, “pervasive cultural beliefs in gender roles, as well as socio-cultural norms and stereotypes, posed additional challenges to combatting domestic violence.”
Some specific cases mentioned in the report included the killing of social activist, Kaaka in Ejura, and the arrest and abuse of Citi FM/Citi TV’s Caleb Kudah.
“There is nothing in that report that hasn’t been reported by any media house in this country. The constitution guarantees certain rights which have been violated as the report has shown. No matter how frustrating it is, this is the state of this country in terms of its human rights record”, the MP added.
In the meantime, Peter Toobu is proposing several interventions government can adopt to reverse the trend.
“I have said that, if we have a system where the security agencies are being controlled by civilian authority, there is a possibility of abuse. There are no checks and balances in the criminal justice system. I have proposed that, if we have district Attorneys in all districts responsible for prosecution and doing the work of the Attorney General, then the police can go back to preventing and investigating crime.”
