State Department finds government of Ghana guilty of human rights abuse
Kwesi Aning calls for State Department report to be treated with contempt
The Director of the Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPKTC), Professor Kwesi Aning, has asked that the 2021 Human Rights Report released by the United States Department be treated with contempt.
According to the security expert, the US has no moral locus to write such a damning report about Ghana’s human rights regime.
He notes that America is guilty of worst human rights abuses despite being portrayed as the worlds model for democracy and respect for human rights.
“Were you to put 20 Ghanaian scholars and human right activists together we can write a worst report about the United States. So this report to me is rubbish and I think it should be treated with the contempt that it deserves. After almost 62 years of independence, we can write our own report."
“We have a vibrant Civil society, we have a Parliament irrespective of its problems or weaknesses, we have a judiciary that we can criticize. A whole Minister made suggestions about how judicial decisions can lead to certain problems,” he told TV3 in an interview.
He emphasized that Ghana after 65 years of independence is well placed to fight back attempts by the US to dictate on such matters.
“We don’t need the State Department to tell what we are doing right or wrong. So I think we should dismiss this report with the contempt that it deserves. I think after all these years of independence we should be bold and tell them that this not right,” he said.
The 2021 US State Department report on Human Rights among other things cited the government of Ghana and its security agencies of being culpable of arbitrary human rights abuses including unlawful killings.
On the freedom of the press, the report released on Tuesday April 26, 2022, outlined various incidents of abuse and threats against journalists which occurred in Ghana over the period.
“In April authorities arrested online news editor David Tamakloe, allegedly working on corruption stories concerning prominent members of the government. Authorities released him without charge. Media advocates characterized the arrest as a ‘preemptive move’ and a ‘clear abuse of power’ as no story had been published at the time of the arrest.
“On May 11, Ministry of National Security officers detained and allegedly brutalized Caleb Kudah, a journalist with Omni Media Limited (OML), operator of Accra-based Citi FM radio and Citi TV. Authorities accused Kudah of filming a fleet of vehicles that had allegedly fallen into despair as a result of neglect at the Ministry of National Security facility, a restricted site.
“The security officers who detained Kudah reportedly beat and abused him during interrogation. On the same day, a SWAT team reportedly entered the OML offices in an attempt to arrest Zoe Abu-Baido, Kudah’s colleague. The Ministry of National Security accused Baido of possessing video files sent to her by Kudah immediately before his detention.
“Following public outrage the Ministry of National Security announced an internal probe into the incident which led to the suspension of the officers involved. Less than a week after his suspension, Ministry of National Security leadership reassigned Lieutenant Colonel Acheampong, identified as the commander of the operation that apprehended and reportedly abused Kudah, to serve as commanding officer of a different unit of the Ghanaian Armed Forces."
“On July 9, Assin Central Region Member of Parliament Kennedy Ohene Agyapong called for Erastus Asare Donkor, a journalist with Luv FM, to be “beaten and whipped” during a live television interview. The Media Foundation for West Africa and 642 professional journalists and supporters of press freedom presented a petition to the office of the speaker of parliament to request parliamentary debate on what they considered the deteriorating press freedom situation.”
Read the full 2021 US State Department Report on Human Rights in Ghana below:
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Director of the Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research at KAIPKTC, Professor Kwesi Aning