Report by Nana POKU
A day’s workshop at CHRAJ Conference Hall saw panelists drawn from various institutions deliberate over a new National Preventive Mechanism Bill for consideration in Ghana.
Opening the workshop, the Commissioner of CHRAJ Mr. Joseph Whittal called on the panelists to dive deep into their knowledge and experience to help craft the best legislation for the country.
The NPM is a new law being fine-tuned to pave way for the standard and better ways of treating people in various detention camps and centers. Participants from the Police, Prisons, Military, Immigration, Spiritual Churches, Courts, Attorney General, EOCO, NGOs, etc, attended the day’s workshop to give their inputs to spice up the intended bill before it is sent to parliament for debate, consideration, and approval.
Giving a PowerPoint presentation on the topic, the Deputy Commissioner of CJRAJ, Madam Mercy Larbi intimated that the country must strive to meet international standards of treating people in detention with decency and respect because they also have the right of survival irrespective of their condition or state of mind.
She argued that most invariably it comes out that especially in prisons, cells, guard rooms, church premises, etc, victims are subjected to inhuman treatment against their fundamental human rights. This she argued calls for investigation and rectification of such incidents.
According to her, the UN Charter on Human Rights frowns on such maltreatment, and Ghana have signed and ratified it must live by its requirements. She said so far only South Africa has fully given approval for the NPM and Ghana may be the second country in Africa to follow suit.
She categorized the various detention camps and centers in the country some of which are legitimate and permissible and those that are illegitimate and unlawful. She postulated that if the law comes into effect, all illegal detention camps will be scrapped and abolished. Anybody found violating it would be dealt with in a severe manner.
She bemoaned the existence of witch camps, church detention camps, and illegal cells that are not well kept but have dozens of humans languishing in there and suffering against their rights.
She called on the general public to volunteer information on any such unauthorized detention centers which the law prohibits to be brought to book. The Deputy CHRAJ Commissioner indicated further that if the law comes into being any institution that flouts it will face severe punishment and the individual found culpable will face a three-month jail term or 100 penalty units of 12 Ghana Cedis which is 12,000 Ghana Cedis fine or both. Participants had fruitful discussions and contributions to bringing the law into being.
