African leaders urged to introduce policies to enhance human rights on the continent
Former Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo has called on African governments to put in place policies and programmes as part of the drive to enhance human rights of the citizenry across the continent.
According to her, human right plays a significant role in the lives of humanity hence people must embrace it to challenge governments to demonstrate rule of law to enhance good governance and not to infringe on people’s rights.
Justice Sophia Akuffo was speaking at the public lecture series organised by the Central University at the Christ Temple Campus in Accra on the topic “The Enforcement of Human Rights in Africa”.
She urged African countries to work fervently to bridge the gaps on the enforcement of judgements by the African courts on Human and People’s Rights and the ECOWAS community court of Justice pointing out that when judgements are not properly addressed it creates negative effect on regional trade as well as goods and services.
“It is for these reasons that African governments must work assiduously to enforce judgements given by global bodies to enhance regional integration for socio-economic development”, she said indicating further that African countries must collectively work together to bring to bear judgements given by African courts to address issues of human rights in the continent.
Touching on refugees human rights, the Justice urged regional bodies to adequately address the needs and challenges of refugees and explained that their issues are primary based on human rights which they are entitled hence their issues must be of concern to the governance structure of countries.
“Their issues are well factored in the human rights space thus issues concerning their rights must not be relegated to the background”, she said.
She urged law lecturers in institutions of higher learning to teach students to test the law to bring to bear all aspects of the law on human rights and the provisions that must be brought on board for people to have a deeper understanding on their rights.
For his part, the Vice Chancellor of the Central University, Prof. Bill Puplampu commended the Faculty of Law for the brilliant inputs into the public lecture saying it will unfold new and emerging trends in the law space particularly the human rights of citizens.
He said the lecture will help build the capacities of students to have an in-depth knowledge on laws regarding human rights at the national and the continental level.
Source:Ben LARYEA /johnawuniktv@gmail.com
