Joseph Whittal (middle), CHRAJ Boss with Mina Mensah head of CHRI-Africa
The Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Joseph Whittal, has called for the decriminalization of prostitution to reduce congestion in the country’s prisons and abuse of the rights of people.
He stressed the need to repeal laws that criminalize prostitution and others.
“These laws were inherited from the colonial English Common laws and they are in our statutory books, times have change and we need to remove them to avoid the incarceration of the vulnerable, who mostly commit these offences out of need.”
Mr Whittal made the call last Tuesday in Accra when he addressed stakeholders at a seminar organized by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Africa under the theme, ‘Decriminalizing Poverty, Advocacy towards the Decriminalization of Petty Offences in Ghana.’
CHRAG boss wondered why people, who unlawfully gather, denigrate national flag and steal fowls land in jail.
“Prostitution could be regularized as done in different jurisdictions, we need to decriminalize it and find different ways of dealing with them.”
He bemoaned the insanitary conditions in the country’s prisons and wished CHRAJ had the power to free some inmates, who are still there unlawfully.
“Why should we still keep people whose warrants have expired and those remanded and forgotten? CHRAJ should be allowed to look into these cases and free them to sanitize the system,” he said.
He, however, called for the training of the police and prison officers to stop the abuse of the rights of inmates.
“The rights of suspects and inmates should be respected and protected,” he added.
Dr Isaac Annan, Deputy Commissioner for CHRAJ, said Ghana should implement the 2002 recommendations of the second pan-African Conference on Prison and Penal reforms in Ouagadougou.
He said criminal justice outfits should consider the social and financial impact on the state and reduce the number of prisoners in the country.
“Government should recognize that it is ultimately responsible for ensuring that standards are maintained so that prisoners can live in dignity and health.”
He added that prisoners should be empowered to lead a crime-free life to foster proper reintegration into society.
There should be a comprehensive law governing prisons and punishment to make sure rights of people are not abused.
Dr Annan said the best penal practices should be developed into instruments to safeguard the rights of people as prescribed by the African Union and the United Nations Charter on the Basic Rights of Prisoners.
By Emmanuel Kubi