The government is developing a national action plan on business and human rights to provide swift sanctions against businesses that violate people rights in the country.
The action plan which is being put together by the collaborative work between the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Justice and other relevant agencies, is expected to protect, promote, respect, and address human right abuses in the trade industry.
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, disclosed this yesterday in Accra, at the opening ceremony of the 14thBiennial Conference of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI).
Under the theme: “Nurturing responsible business conduct and respect for human rights in Africa -The role of African national human rights institutions in centering human and people’s rights in the context of business operations and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement” the conference brought together 46 National Human Rights institutions on the continent.
The Vice President said CHRAJ in the year 2020 conducted a national baseline assessment on the voluntary principles of security and human right in the extractive sector in the country.
He said in 2021, the Commission concluded national baseline assessment of business and human rights, in collaboration with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), as a prelude to the processes towards the development and adoption of the national action plan on business and human right.
“As a government, we will support CHRAJ to always deliver on its mandate, and urged all African leaders to do same for their national human rights institutions.
“The continent needs very strong and independent and result oriented national human rights institutions, to provide the necessary guidance in improving on human rights records of our respective countries and continent as a whole,” Dr Bawumia said.
He said the national action plan on businesses and human rights was necessitated by the unanimous endorsement of the United Nations principles on business and human rights, by the Human Rights Council in June 2011, in its resolution 17(4).
The resolutions, he said, was supported by governments all over the world, with the aim of advancing the protection, respect, and as well provides solutions on human rights violation.
The Vice President said the resolution called on government to adopt a national action plan on businesses and human right, and highlight sanctions that needs to be applied when people’s rights were abuse in business transactions.
The outgoing chairperson of the NANHRI, Dr Hilarious Mugwadi, said environment pollution was among the many challenges that come as a result of business operations in the continent, especially in extractives industry.
He explained that, it was because the extractives sector contributes to air and water pollution that negatively contributes to the challenges facing some communities in having access to potable water, hence, such development violates on people rights.
The Chairperson of NANHRI, Mr Joseph Whittal, said he was optimistic that the national action plan on business and human rights would help address challenges facing individuals and communities in regards to business operations
BY BERNARD BENGHAN
