Agyarko Deserved Sack – Justice Short

Fmr. CHRAJ Boss, Justice Emile Short 

In attempt to winning the fight against corruption in this current administration, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday 6^th August, dismissed the Energy Minister Mr. Boakye Agyarko to satisfy the public’s outcry on his actions relating to the renegotiation of AMERI Power agreement.

It is in view of this that the former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) Justice Emile Short waved into the matter relating to the dismissal of the Minister for Energy, saying the minister did not do his work properly and that he deserved the sacking. He further praised the president for his swift action in the process.     

On Monday, August 6^th, the President, Nana Akufo Addo relieved Mr. Boakye Agyarko from his post with immediate effect. Though no official reason was given in the release, it is widely known that it was as a result of the controversial renegotiation agreement between the Energy Minister and AEMRI Power Group where the president had earlier mentioned that he was misled.   

Adding to this development, Justice Short stated that the fact that Mr. Agyarko misled the president meant that the Energy Minister failed to do his work properly as expected of him.   

“Yes sure [he deserved the sacking], because to the extent that he has misled the president, he has to accept that he hasn’t done his work properly. It’s unfortunate because he appears to be energetic person, but this is a serious matter and there are so many institutions and individuals calling for his sack. That is what the president has done”, he told The Manual. 

Justice Short further stated that the president cannot read every document that is brought before him and that he relies on his ministers and advisers for onward approval and advice. He opined that his dismissal will send a strong signal to all ministers to be weary of their actions in matters relating to their work.

“Everybody was calling for him to be dismissed. The president cannot read every document. He has to rely on his ministers and advisers. So if he was misled by the Minister for Energy, he [Boakye Agyarko] has to be held responsible. The fact that he has been sacked will be a deterrent to other ministers and they will do more due diligence”, Justice Short, who was once a former judge for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda mentioned.

Following his dismissal, the president has asked Mr. Boakye Agyarko to hand over his office to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Mr. John Peter Amewu who will act temporarily as the Minister for Energy until a substantive appointment is made.

Group Urged Ghana to Pass International Criminal Court Bill

Justice Emile Short, Fmr. Commissioner for CHRAJ

Human Rights advocates and Civil Society Groups are urging Ghana to pass the International Criminal Court Bill, which Ghana ratified in 1999 and came into effect in 2002, in order to deal with criminal cases in the country should the need arises.

This came to the lime light during a discussion commemorating the 20^th Anniversary of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which also coincided with the 20^th Anniversary of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) in a debate held at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, Accra. 

The debate was on the theme, Twenty years of the ICC: The Hits, Misses and Prospects for Pursuing Justice for Victims of Atrocity Crimes.  

A member of the experts panel, Justice Emile Short, who is also a former judge for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, stated it is important the society puts pressure on the government to pass the International Criminal Court Bill to satisfy the provision of the Rome Statute.

He noted that it is eminent because the cases that sent some countries into war and conflicts arose from electoral disputes

“It is important the society puts pressure on government to pass the legislation of the International Criminal Court Bill and to take steps to reciprocate the Rome Statute and also develop our national criminal justice system to be prepared to deal with such cases”, Justice Short said.

He further mentioned that it is imperative to be proactive rather than being reactive in dealing with criminal matters in the sense that the issues that sent countries like Kenya and Ivory Coast into conflicts arose from electoral disputes. 

He mentioned that such cases can also occur in the country.

“We must never think that it [electoral conflicts] would not happen in Ghana. Nobody thought it could occur in Ivory Coast and Kenya. In Kenya and Ivory Coast, conflicts arose from elections. So it is a remote possibility that conflicts that occurred in Kenya and Ivory Coast, which gave rise to commissions of atrocities can apply and occur in Ghana”, the former judge mentioned.

Justice Short stressed it is not surprising that the ICC is dealing with cases relating to Africa because the African continent is a host to so many conflicts that affect many lives and properties and it is vital that Africa supports the ICC in giving justice to victims of criminal atrocities.

The Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) also shared similar views during the debate. 

Its Executive Director, Mr. William Nyarko mentioned that Ghana was one of the first to adopt the Rome Statute in 1999 and under the statute, once there is ratification, there should be domestication of the international law.

“Under the Rome Statute, once there is ratification, the state must have a local law to back its implementation. When a crime [one that the national court is unable or unwilling to handle] happens in Ghana that the ICC wants to prosecute, we do not have to send a Ghanaian to The Hague. The ICC can sit here and deal with the matter”, ACILA Boss stated.

Asked why Ghana has since not ratified the Rome Statute, the Executive Director insisted that there has not been the demand for it's implementation by the populace and that politicians are only focusing on what they feel the people want.

In the opening remarks by the Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Mr. Henry Prempeh, shared same sentiment and echoed for the state to take immediate steps in passing the bill 19 years after Ghana ratified. 

He stressed that Ghana must align its national laws with the Rome Statute by passing the International Criminal Court Bill.

The Rome Statute is a treaty that established the ICC. It was adopted in Rome, Italy on July 17^th, 1998 and entered into force on July 1, 2002. 

The Chairperson for the occasion was H.E. Akua Kuenyehia, former judge and first Vice President of the ICC. Among the expert panelists were Ms. Evelyn Ankumah, Executive Director, Africa Legal Aid at The Hague, H.E. Kabral Blay-Amihere, Former Ambassador TO Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast and Prof. Anne Pieter Van Der Mei, Professor of Law, Department of Public Law, Maastricht University,                        

We Are Not Promoting LGBTI Rights - ACILA

William Nyarko, ACILA Executive Director

Executive Director of Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), Mr. William Nyarko has stated that the recent release of the first ever comprehensive survey on lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and intersexual people (LGBTI) by his organization is not aimed at promoting the rights of LGBTI persons.

He, however, mentioned that the import of the survey prior to its commencement was rather to monitor Ghana’s acceptance of the recommendations by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to provide equal protection of the Law against violence and discrimination for LGBTI people.

Mr. Nyarko was speaking during a two day ACILA Capacity Building Workshop of the survey titled “Popular Attitudes Towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersexual People in Ghana”, at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, Accra on Monday July 30^th.

“We are not promoting LGBT rights and neither are we urging the media to go out there to promote their rights. What we are saying is that Ghana has ratified a UN Human Rights recommendation to provide equal protection of the law from violence and discrimination against LGBTI people in accordance with Ghana’s domestic law and International Human Rights Law obligations. This is what we are urging the state to act accordingly”, he stressed.

The survey with a sample size of 1200 respondents and probability sampling method was conducted in a number of urban and rural areas from five regions out of the ten regions from 4^th to 20^th June 2018. They were Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western, Volta and Northern regions. 

Lead researcher Mr. Kojo Impraim mentioned that these five regions were chosen due to their cosmopolitan nature. This, he noted that the views of respondents represent the total views of Ghanaians.

Key issues pointed out 

The survey shows that about 60% of Ghanaians strongly disagree or disagree LGBTI people must be treated equally as heterosexuals. The same percentage of respondents are unaware that Ghana has ratified a UN recommendation to provide equal protection of the Law for LGBTI people.

On November 7, 2017, Ghana appeared before the UNHRC for a review of its human rights records under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism. Though Ghana rejected the recommendations to legalize same-sex marriage or decriminalize consensual sexual relation, but accepted to provide Equal Protection of the Law from violence and discrimination against LGBTI people in accordance with Ghana’s domestic law and international human rights law obligations.  

Again, the survey showed over 80% of Ghanaians are aware of their human rights which are guaranteed in the 1992 constitution of Ghana. However, the same percentage of Ghanaians forbid LGBT people from meeting. This development, ACILA boss insisted that it is important we separate the facts that we do not want that act from abusing their basic rights such as physical abuse and homophobic statements.

He mentioned that Ghana declined to legalize same sex marriage when it met with the UN Human Rights Council in 2017, but in so far as Ghana committed itself to give equal protection against violence and discrimination for LGBTI people; this must be recognized as such.   

The survey also showed that more than 80% of Ghanaians –Moslems, Christians and Traditionalists, are very uncomfortable associating themselves with LGBT people. To add to this, the research shows that more than 97% of respondents are aware that the police has a responsibility to protect every citizen against mob injustice. It added that over 94% of Ghanaians agreed that anyone who engages in mob activity must face the law.

However, 20% of Ghanaians disagreed that the police has a responsibility to protect LGBTI people against mob injustice whereas a significant number of Ghanaians (87%) are against allowing LGBTI people holding public meetings to discuss LGBT issues.

This survey clearly shows that Ghanaians are against anything that has to do with LGBTI people and thus, demonstrated a total rejection of their activities. It also tells that if such people avail themselves as LGBT, their lives could be at risk on the basis that Ghanaians are not aware that the rights gays and lesbians must be secured and protected.  

Mr. Nyarko mentioned that no individual or institution in Ghana is pushing for the legalization of LGBT activities, but insisted their inherent basic rights of people must exist.

One interesting outcome of the survey bordered on health matters. Asked if Ghanaians would receive “emergency medical treatment” from a health practitioner perceived to be LGBTI, 67% noted their readiness to do that.

Thirty per cent of Christians, 40% of Moslems and 50% of Traditionalists mentioned they will not receive “emergency medical treatment” from a health staff perceived to be LGBTI. For instance, the result showed that 40% of Ghanaians between the ages of 51-60 years who, naturally could suffer from diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure said they will not receive emergency medical care from doctor or nurse perceived to be LGBTI.