A new report on the current mental health and human rights situation in Ghana has been launched by a coalition of non-governmental organisations in the country, spearheaded by MindFreedom Ghana. The report was presented to the UN Human Rights Council in January 2022 as part of the 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and Ghana was reviewed on January 24, 2023. The UPR is a one-of-a-kind procedure that examines the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States on a regular basis. Mr. Dan Taylor, Executive Secretary of MindFreedom Ghana, said in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday that his organisation compiled the report that reviewed the human rights situation of people with mental health conditions in Ghana. He said the shadow report was put together through a nationwide consultation process, and that the report aimed to draw the Human Rights Council’s attention to ongoing instances of systemic and structural challenges in Ghana’s human rights response to protect, promote, and secure the human rights of people with mental health conditions. It also urged Ghana to implement suggestions made by non-governmental and civil society groups working for and on behalf of those suffering from mental illnesses. However, the report underlined Ghana’s improvement during the previous third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review. The new report is one of three that served as the foundation for Ghana’s assessment on January 24, 2023, when the UN Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group assessed Ghana’s human rights record for the fourth time in a webcast meeting. It required States to outline the actions they had taken to carry implement recommendations made during previous reviews that they agreed to pursue. They were also asked to highlight recent advancements in their country’s human rights record. Ghana’s delegation to the meeting, according to the statement, was led by Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. Mr. Taylor further mentioned that since its first meeting was held in April 2008, all 193 UN member states have been reviewed three times within the first, second, and third UPR cycles. The UPR is a United Nations process conducted under the auspices of the Human Rights Council with the aim of improving the human rights situation globally and addressing violations in all countries. Every member state of the United Nations goes through this comprehensive review of its human rights practices every five years. Ghana’s first, second, and third UPR reviews took place in May 2008, October 2012, and November 2017. MindFreedom Ghana submitted the detailed shadow report on mental health and human rights to the United Nations Human Rights Council on July 14, 2022, with contributions from 26 mental health non-governmental and civil society organisations to aid in reviewing Ghana’s situation. The assessments were based on Ghanaian national reports and information, as well as reports from independent human rights experts and groups known as Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN agencies. It also included information from other parties, including national human rights authorities, regional organisations, and civil society groups.
Source: Ghana News Agency