\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amnesty International is urging newly sworn-in President John Mahama and his government to seize the opportunity of his mandate to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights.<\/p>\n
According to the orgnaisation which champions human right it is time for the new President to promote gender equality and women\u2019s rights, the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, and the right to a healthy environment for everyone in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident John Mahama and his new government should work to prioritise and tackle key human rights issues head on over the coming years. This must include the persistent barriers to gender equality and the protection of women from witchcraft accusations and ritual attacks.<\/p>\n
The repression of peaceful protests last year over the environmental impact of so-called \u201cgalamsey\u201d mining shows how important it is both to amend the Public Order Act to protect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and put an end to illegal mining,\u201d said Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International\u2019s Interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa in a press release.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s Participation In Politics, Public Office<\/p>\n
In 2024, less than 15% of the 275 members of Ghana\u2019s parliament were women. The Affirmative Action Act, passed in July 2024 and signed into law in September 2024, aims at increasing women\u2019s participation in political, economic and societal spheres to at least 30% by 2026 and 50% by 2030.<\/p>\n
\u201cA female Vice-President, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has been appointed for the first time. Amnesty International calls on the new government to ensure a significant increase in the representation of women in political and public life, including by taking all appropriate measures to ensure to women, on an equal basis as men, the right to participate in the formulation and implementation of government policy and to hold public office at all levels of government,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Witchcraft Accusations, Ritual Attacks<\/p>\n
Witchcraft accusations continue to be common in the Northern and North-East regions. This deeply rooted practice has led to untold suffering, discrimination, and violence, especially against older women. Hundreds have fled their villages fearing for their lives and ended up in camps.<\/p>\n
On 27 July 2023, the parliament passed the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill which criminalizes various behaviours including accusing someone of witchcraft.<\/p>\n
In December 2023, the President declined to sign it into law claiming that it should have been introduced in parliament as a public bill instead of a private member bill as it would incur cost to the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new government should pass a new legislation specifically criminalizing witchcraft accusations and ritual attacks, including protective measures for potential victims. It should also establish a national strategy to educate people about the negative impact of witchcraft accusations on human rights,\u201d the organisation said.<\/p>\n
On the right to freedom of peaceful assembly the organisation, \u201curge the government of Ghana to amend the Public Order Act to expressly include an exemption from the prior notification requirement in the case of spontaneous assemblies. The legal proceedings affecting those who have solely exercised their right to demonstrate peacefully must be dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n
It further noted that the government must ensure mining contracts do not interfere with the right to a healthy environment and that the mining laws and regulations are fully enforced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new President and his government must keep the promise to ban illegal and new mining activities in forest reserves, as stated in John Mahama\u2019s first 120 days social contract,\u201d said Amnesty International Ghana representative, Genevieve Partington. \u201cNow is the right time for the President and his government to make a clear commitment to prioritize and tackle these pressing human rights issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Daily Guide Report<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 Amnesty International is urging newly sworn-in President John Mahama and his government to seize the opportunity of his mandate to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights. According to the orgnaisation which champions human right it is time for the new President to promote gender equality and women\u2019s rights, the right to freedom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":275393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-275392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"yoast_head":"\n
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