Ghana needs to prepare its economy, society and
institutions to ensure its expanding economy does not undermine human rights protection,
the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights has cautioned.
 |
| Dr. Alexandra Guaqueta |
“Rapid
economic growth can pose big challenges for protecting rights,” said Working
Group member Alexandra Guáqueta at the end of a 10-day official visit to Ghana.
“National and foreign investors need to demonstrate greater respect for human
rights as they participate in Ghana’s growth,” she added.
Ms
Guáqueta and fellow expert Pavel Sulyandziga urged the Ghanaian Government to
ensure that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were at the
heart of the new policy on corporate social responsibility being developed by
the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The principles should also guide the work
of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Ghana Free Zones Board, and be
incorporated in Ghana’s trade and investment agreements.
“Ghana
should build on its successful investment in modern institutions for trade
promotion and investment to ensure that other key institutions dealing with
business, such as the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and the
Judiciary, have the necessary resources and training to provide effective
oversight,” said Mr. Sulyandziga.
The
Working Group experts said Ghana had a relatively strong legal framework in
place to protect rights. However, laws and regulations on child labour, health
and safety, working hours and employment discrimination against women are often
not effectively implemented by businesses nor enforced by authorities. People,
particularly in rural areas and the informal sector, faced practical obstacles in
getting effective remedy through the justice system, the experts noted.
In Ghana’s
cocoa sector, the Working Group saw evidence that reducing the worst forms of
child labour is possible. The experts visited two cocoa-farming communities,
where people are involved in devising concrete measures to protect children, including
access to education. These have been complemented with training to increase
food security and generate cash crops. Such supply-chain initiatives have been
made possible by the collective efforts of international chocolate brands and
buyers, the Government, the International Labour Organization and donors. The
Working Group also heard of Government efforts to reduce human trafficking and
child labour in the fishing industry, with the support of the International
Organization for Migration.
“Now
industry and the Government must go further, learn from these positive community
initiatives, and scale up their action to the cocoa sector at large. The positive
lessons from the cocoa industry should also inform existing efforts in other sectors
where children’s rights are at risk, such as fishing and artisanal mining,”
said Mr. Sulyandziga.
The
Working Group saw the mining industry’s efforts to address its impact on
communities, deriving from environmental pollution, land acquisition and
resettlement from both past and more current operations.
“Both
mining companies and the Government have a clear responsibility to address
legacy issues that infringe on access to both clean water and land. This is
especially important given the complex nature of land ownership and tenure in
Ghana,” said Mr Sulyandziga. “The Government and companies, while recognizing
existing customs and traditions, must ensure that all community members are
fully informed about proposed projects
and are consulted, and are part of decision-making processes that affect them,
including on prevention, mitigation and compensation of any negative effects.”
The
experts also saw evidence of child labour in illegal small-scale mining operations,
which also cause environmental damage and water pollution that directly affect
communities and people’s livelihoods. The President has set up a Government
Task Force to address the multiple adverse consequences of this activity.
“Both the
Government and the gold industry have a responsibility to ensure that human and
labour rights considerations are integrated in their response,” said Ms.
Guáqueta.
The
solution to the problem of illegal mining, she said, included improved
monitoring to cover relevant small-scale mining zones, technical capacity on
human rights and environmental standards for those who want to follow the
rules, and efficient policing
“Integrating human rights will also be
important regarding the use of public security forces in the response of the
Government, and Ghana should consider joining the Voluntary Principles on
Security and Human Rights,” Ms Guáqueta added.
During their
visit, the Working Group experts had meetings in Accra, and in Ashanti and
Central regions. The Working Group will present detailed observations and
recommendations from the visit in a report to be presented to the Human Rights
Council in June 2014.
Adopted
by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, the Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights provide the first authoritative global standard to prevent and
address adverse impacts on human rights of business activities.
The
Working Group was established by the United Nations Human Rights Council in
June 2011. The five members are Mr. Michael Addo, Ms. Alexandra Guáqueta, Ms.
Margaret Jungk, Mr. Puvan Selvanathan and Mr. Pavel Sulyandziga (current
Chairperson-Rapporteur). The Working Group is independent from any government
or organization. It reports to the Human Rights Council and to the UN General
Assembly.
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