The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) last Tuesday organised a public forum in Accra as part of efforts to sensitise the public to human rights in the country.
The forum, on the theme “The State of Human Rights In Ghana: Progress, Challenges and Way Forward” was in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), UN and funded by European Union (EU).
In a brief discussion, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame said although the country had made strides in improving the human rights conditions there was still more room for improvement.
“Despite the constitutional guarantees of equal rights and the progress made, much work remains to be done to address the gaps and rights of all Ghanaians to boost up the nation,” he said.
The commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr Joseph Whittal underscored the need for more promotion, protection and projection of human rights in order to guarantee more freedom and justice in the country.
“The country have to move further to improve on women, persons with disability, the elderly, children, and other minority groups as well as tackling the fight for galamsey seriously as that abused human rights,” he said.
He further advised that everyone had a role to play in achieving a free and just society, where the rights of all persons would be respected in order to secure a better future for all.
On his part, Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, said human rights was the key values and principles of dignity, fairness, equity, equality, and respect and needed to be promoted, defended, and protected at all times.
“Over the years, the country has made significant progress on human rights, but there are still major challenges that we have to deal with, and this requires us to always plan to strategise and execute appropriate actions that will help,” he stated.
Mr Braimah added that more focus should be placed on taking stock of our human rights situation as a country by looking at the progress made, the challenges faced and the steps to be taken in order to make further progress.
BY ANITA ANKRAH
