Accra: A two-day Inter-Parliamentary Union workshop on promoting human and children's rights in Ghana opened on Tuesday in Accra with speakers issuing a call to action, emphasizing parliamentarians' critical role in promoting and protecting human rights. Mr. Ernest Anim, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Human Rights, addressed participants, highlighting the importance of tangible action in advancing human rights. He stated that their work must translate into tangible improvements, better laws, and better outcomes.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Anim, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumawu, emphasized the need for partnership and collaboration between parliamentarians, development partners, and civil society to promote human rights, particularly for the most vulnerable members of society. He advocated the importance of prioritizing the most vulnerable members of society, including children, women, and individuals with mental health conditions. Mr. Anim remarked that the engagement serves as a powerful reminder of the crucial role parliamentarians play in giving meaning to rights and holding duty-bearers accountable.
The two-day Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) hybrid workshop, scheduled from Tuesday, June 24, to Wednesday, June 25, is themed 'Promoting Human and Children's Rights: The Role of the Ninth Parliament of Ghana.' It is organized by the Committee on Human Rights for eight Committees in the Legal Cluster and the Committee on Education, Employment, Labor Relations and Pensions, and Gender, Children, and Social Welfare. The workshop aims to introduce new MPs to the scope and responsibilities of their mandate, focusing on human rights, raising awareness of human rights principles and Parliament's role in promoting them, and informing participants about the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism.
The workshop also explores avenues for the Parliament of Ghana to contribute to the implementation of UPR recommendations contained in the 2023 review and strengthen parliamentary efforts to combat child trafficking and child labor. Mr. Miguel Akiyo Afouda, Senior Programme Officer Governance, IPU, highlighted Ghana's strong legal foundation for protecting human rights, noting that Ghana's comprehensive constitution and laws provide a solid basis for safeguarding human rights, particularly for children. He emphasized the unique position of parliamentarians in promoting and protecting human rights through oversight, accountability, and decision-making.
Mr. Akiyo Afouda also expressed a commitment to supporting the Parliament of Ghana in promoting and protecting human rights. He stated that IPU looks forward to supporting the implementation of the workshop's outcomes and promoting human rights in Ghana. Mr. Bernard Ahiafor, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, mentioned that Ghana's Eighth Parliament demonstrated a strong commitment to the UPR process. He highlighted that Speaker Alban S.K. Bagbin pledged to ensure Parliament's active involvement in the process, leading to Ghana's UPR report including a contribution by parliament and a parliamentary delegation participating in the Geneva session.
Discussions during the workshop included Parliament's role in the promotion of human rights, the United Nations HRC and the UPR, Ghana's UPR process, and promoting strategies to support the implementation of the UPR recommendations and promoting the rights of the child in Ghana. Other topics addressed were child labor and trafficking, strengthening multi-stakeholder cooperation on the rights of the child, and identifying parliamentary priorities and next steps. The workshop brought together MPs, particularly those serving on the Human Rights Committee, parliamentary staff, representatives from the executive, the National Human Rights Commission of Ghana, and civil society organizations active in the field of human and children's rights.
