By Julius K. Satsi, GNA
Accra, Aug. 29, GNA –
A project to raise awareness among university students and business
professionals about the rights and obligations employers owe their employees
under international and local human right laws has been launched.
The project titled
‘Promoting Human Rights Awareness in Business’ was launched at the Ghana
Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), where the business
curriculum would be updated to inculcate human right in business studies.
The two-year
project, which spans June 2018 to May 2020, is being sponsored by the State of
the Netherlands with GIMPA and the Grotius Centre for International Legal
Studies in Netherlands being partners in the implementation.
Speaking at the
launch of the project, Ms Daphne Lariba Nabila, the Executive Director of the
Legal Resources Centre said although Ghana had signed and ratified most
international human rights treaties and conventions, not a single industry
could be immune to human rights abuses.
She said Ghana is
signatory to the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR,
1996), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR, 1996), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)”.
Ms Nabila said as a
member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Ghana had ratified 46
ILO Conventions including Conventions on the abolition of forced labour, the
hours of work and minimum wage fixing.
She said her Centre
had observed that most workers were unaware of the existing laws that safeguard
their fundamental human rights in the workplace because most educational
institutions in the country did not have comprehensive and well-integrated
human rights in business curricula to prepare students for the workforce.
She said the project
would assist in reviewing six existing undergraduate courses and one
post-graduate, and also incorporate Human Rights in Business modules starting
from the 2018/2019 academic year.
Ms Nabila said the
project would also create three short courses on Human Right in Business to be
implemented for the 2018/2019 academic year as well as a seminar on Human Right
in Business, organised during the same academic year.
In his address, Mr
Ron Striker, the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana said the country was committed
to ensuring that human rights were upheld in all facets of life, including the
corporate world.
He said the
Netherlands was supporting the project because the protection of human rights
had been very keen on the country’s foreign policy, adding that, strengthening
the rule of law in business development was very necessary.
Professor Martin Morgan
Tuuli, the Dean of Business School at GIMPA, said the school was committed to
fulfilling its obligation towards the overall achievement of the project
objectives.
Justice Dennis
Dominic Adjei, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, said there was the need for
every citizen to play their role as prescribed by the law.
He said the
understanding and application of the duties and obligations, either as
employers or employees, must be inculcated in the citizenry to ensure that law
and order were maintained, in order to promote fairness.
Justice Adjei said a
number of laws on human rights had been codified in the 1992 constitution of
the Republic, such as economic rights, children’s rights, right of disabilities
and many others, spelled out in the Labour Act.
He called on
students, faculty and stakeholders to ensure that the project was sustained
even after the stipulated duration of two years.
Prof Philip Ebow
Bondzi-Simpson, the Rector of GIMPA, commended the LRC, the Business School at
GIMPA, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies in the Netherlands
and the Netherlands Embassy for ensuring the commencement of the project,
saying that, the Institute was committed to it.
He said before the
project would go mainstream after the pilot at the Institute, the stakeholders
must consider the whole realm of engagement of children in business practices.
He said the
connection between environment and business must also be looked at because some
business practices were detrimental to society, rendering them non-sustainable
business practices.
Prof Bondzi-Simpson
said the suitability of space and facilities for all manner of people in the
business operations must be looked at, as well as fora for redress in a
corporate setting.
GNA