CHRAJ to sensitise security personnel on Luanda Guidelines

By
Francis Ameyibor, GNA

Accra, Sept. 18, GNA – The Commission on Human
Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) is set to sensitize security officers
on the guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trail
Detention in Africa (Luanda Guidelines).

This would be done at a workshop being
organised by CHRAJ in partnership with the African Commission on Human and
People’s Rights (ACHPR) and African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum,
scheduled for October 1st and 2nd in Accra.

The security officers would also be schooled
on the Guidelines on Sexual Violence and its consequences, especially in
relation to persons in detention centres and prisons.

Mr Joseph Whittal, the CHRAJ Commissioner,
told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that, the Luanda Guidelines were
adopted by the ACHPR during its 55th Ordinary Session in Luanda,
Angola, in May 2014.

He said articles  2, 
3,  5,  6,  7  and 
26  of  the 
African  Charter  on 
Human  and  Peoples’ 
Rights  (the  African Charter) set out States’ obligations
to provide all people with the rights to life, dignity, equality, security, a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary.

Mr Whittal explained that the Luanda
Guidelines, therefore, sought to assist States in implementing these
obligations in the specific context of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial
Detention.

The African Commission is mandated to
formulate standards, principles and rules on which African Governments can base
their legislation. It is on this basis that these Guidelines have been
developed.

He said the adoption of the Luanda Guidelines
was an important step towards promoting a rights-based approach to decisions to
arrest and detain suspects, and to conditions and safeguards with respect to
police custody and pre-trial detention.

The Guidelines reflect the collective
aspirations of States, National Human Rights Institutions and Civil Society
Organisations in promoting a rights-based approach to this critical area of
criminal justice.

The Luanda Guidelines have been subject to
extensive consultations and expert review by State Parties to the African
Charter, National Human Rights Institutions, and Civil Society Organisations
across Africa.

GNA

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