A group pictre of some of the participants
Regional Director for Africa Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Gilbert O. Onyango, has commended the government of Ghana for its active role in ratifying international human rights treaties over the years.
Addressing participants from Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Kenya, including journalists at a Ghana In Country Pre-Session at Alisa Hotel, the UPR regional director Accra explained that signing onto the treaties is an indication of government’s commitment to ensuring that people’s rights are respected.
Ghana is a party to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which was created through the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on March 2006 by Resolution 60/251, which also established the Human Rights Council (HRC).
The UPR is a state-driven process which reviews the human rights records of all the 194 UN member states once every five years.
The review, similar to a peer review session, provides opportunities for states to demonstrate what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their respective countries.
Some of the treaties signed by government are International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (IESCR), Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention on the Rights of Children (CRC) and Convention Against Torture (CAT)
Mr Onyango was, however, quick to mention that much as it is good for governments to sign onto these treaties, it is also equally a critical call on human rights advocacy groups in the country to put pressure on government to implement such treaties.
“Human rights is about the three Cs — coordination, collaboration and communication— with government, other CSOs and the people in order to make significant impact,” he stated
Mr Onyango also reminded advocacy groups that UPR which is a tool to improve human rights stands for liberty, equity, fraternity and natural law towards building a society that is devoid of injustice.
By Solomon Ofori