By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Sept. 14, GNA – POS Foundation, a human
rights advocacy group, has organised a “Business and Human Rights Youth
Seminar” for students of the University of Ghana, Legon.
The “Business and Human Rights Youth Seminar”
is a programme aimed at creating a unique space for dialogue and learning
between well-established astute personalities in society and students to equip
themselves with practical knowledge on how to strive for greater heights
between their business/ career, daily public and individual lives while being
mindful of their rights and how those rights intertwine with that of others.
The programme is part of the POS Foundation’s
United Nations (UN) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) project and a youth
centered initiative in line with the UN forum on Business and Human Rights
principle -“Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework”- with funding from the Danish
International Development Agency (DANIDA).
The one-day seminar dubbed “My life, My
Business, My Rights” was attended by over 70 participants.
It was organised by the POS Foundation in
collaboration with the Economics Students Society of the University of Ghana
and the African Dream Foundation.
Mr Jonathan Osei Owusu, the Executive Director
of POS Foundation, said the seminar was held to inculcate into the youth the
principles and concepts of business and human rights.
He said these young people are the future
leaders of the country and it is important to prepare them for the task ahead.
Mr Owusu said the seminar would be replicated
in all public universities in the country to sensitise the youth business and
human rights.
“Our aim is to come and share the UN guiding
principles on business and human rights, so that when they graduate and find
themselves working in institutions or possibly set up their own companies they
would understand the need to respect the right of people who they work with and
or for them,” he said.
“We have also realized that often it is not
only the poor that have their rights been violated, but everyone. It is also
dangerous that people who are ignorant in society are the worst offenders.
Ignorance and poverty is too dangerous for any society that is why we embarking
on a campaign to educate people on the needs of their rights,” he said.
Mr Owusu said young people must begin to
appreciate human rights as part of life and their living; adding that “because
if you don’t know, those who know would have an upper hand over you and there
are certain things you can’t do because you don’t know”.
He urged organised labour to educate their
membership on their fundamental human rights and also their rights as
employees.
Mr William Nyarko, the Executive Director of
the Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), gave an
overview of the UN Human Rights in general, international law, local law and
labour laws.
He said in order for Ghanaians to be good
citizens and live in a harmonious way, it is important for them to know the
rights that governs them and laws that enforces these rights.
Established in 2005, the POS Foundation is a
civil society organization that seeks to promote human rights, youth
development and social accountability.
The POS Foundation facilitates the justice for
remand prisoners (a state-driven mechanism) and functions as the Convener for
the Civil Society Platform on the UN UPR.
GNA