Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1989
GHANA
Ghana is governed by the Provisional National Defense Council
(PNDC) under the chairmanship of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John
Rawlings, who seized power from an elected government on
December 31, 1981, and abolished the constitution, which has
not been replaced. Under the Establishment Proclamation of
January 11, 1982, the PNDC exercises "all powers of
government." In practice, government policy is developed by
Chairman Rawlings, assisted by a number of close advisers,
both inside and outside the Government. In addition to
Chairman Rawlings, the PNDC consists of eight members, of whom
two are serving military officers and six are civilians. The
executive consists of ministries headed by secretaries, most
of whom are subordinate to a PNDC member responsible for that
particular area of government. There is no national
legislature or lawmaking body. All national, regional, and
many district officials are appointed by the PNDC.
The several security organizations which exist in Ghana report
to various departments of government, but all come under the
control of the PNDC. Most security cases of a political
nature are handled by the Bureau of National Investigation
(BNI), which reports to the PNDC member responsible for
security issues.
Starting in 1983, the Government adopted an Economic Recovery
Program (ERP) to redress a quarter century of economic
mismanagement and political instability which caused Ghana to
decline from one of Africa's most promising economies to near
collapse. Conducted in concert with the International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and a consultative group of
bilateral donors, the recovery program has had a positive
impact. While economic growth has averaged 5 percent since
the inception of the ERP, and inflation has fallen far below
the triple-digit rates of earlier years, the austerity of the
recovery program has been a heavy burden for large segments of
the population.
Although the Rawlings regime has largely restored order
following the 18-month period of revolutionary excess in 1982
and 1983, there continue to be significant human rights
problems in Ghana. These include restrictions on such basic
rights as freedom of speech, press, and assembly, the right of
citizens to change their government, and legal due process.
In June 1989, the Government established regulations for
registering all religious organizations; it "froze" the assets
of four churches, expelling the expatriate missionaries of two
of them, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons. Summary
arrest and detention were continuing problems with instances
of incarceration without formal charges.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of politically motivated or other
extrajudicial killings.
b. Disappearance
No politically motivated disappearances were reported in 1989.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
There have been occasional credible allegations of torture and
beatings in recent years, although there were none in 1989.
Prisons in Ghana are antiquated and overcrowded; conditions
are harsh. Within the past few years, two American citizens
with medical problems died in Ghanaian prisons, and a third
stated he had been physically mistreated. The Government is
aware of unsafe and overcrowded prison conditions and has
established a commission to look into reform of the prisons
and the parole system.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
In routine criminal cases, arrests generally conform to the
legal procedures set forth in the criminal code. This code
requires that an arrested person be brought before a court
within 48 hours to be charged. However, the court can refuse
to release a detainee on bail and instead remand him without
charges for an indefinite period of time, subject to weekly
review as a case is investigated. Habeas corpus is limited by
a 1984 law which prevents any court from inquiring into the
grounds for the detention of any Ghanaian under PNDC Law 4
(Preventive Custody Law of 1982).
PNDC Law 4 provides for indefinite detention without trial if
the PNDC determines it is in the interest of national
security. Ghanaian security forces occasionally take persons
into custody, with or without a warrant, and hold them
incommunicado for extended periods of time, as in the
1987-1988 case of the journalist Ben Ephson. The threat of
such treatment serves as a deterrent to activities deemed
unacceptable by the State. PNDC Law 4 has been used against a
wide variety of persons, including trade union officials like
Akwasi Adu-Amankwah and student leaders like Tony Akoto-Ampaw,
both of whom were released in 1989.
In late June, the PNDC detained without charge the President
and the Secretary General of the Ghana Bar Association for
more than a week after the Association announced its intention
to hold a seminar commemorating the murder of three judges by
soldiers in 1982, shortly after Chairman Rawlings took power.
Following a decision by the Bar Association to cancel the
seminar, the President and Secretary General were released.
There are also reliable reports that Lebanese businessmen
suspected of illegal activities are often simply arrested and
incarcerated as a means of intimidating others.
In recent years, a number of American citizens have been
arrested and held without charge for lengthy periods without
the U.S. Embassy being notified or provided access as
stipulated in international conventions and in a bilateral
treaty. In 1989 the Government seized members of a religious
group—the Black Hebrews—who are American citizens and
long-time residents of Ghana. They were held several days
before appropriate officials at the American Embassy were
informed of their imprisonment. The Department of State
renewed its August 1988 travel advisory warning American
visitors and potential travelers of continuing problems with
Ghanaian authorities.
The number of political detainees/prisoners at the end of 1989
was unknown, but the most reliable estimates were around 200.
The Government claims the actual number is smaller. InGHAM
September 1989, Major Courage Quashigah, two other military
officers (one of whom reportedly committed suicide while in
detention), and two civilians were arrested for alleged
involvement in a coup plot. They had not been tried by the end
of 1989.
The Government does not practice forced exile. In 1988 the
Government continued quietly to encourage Ghanaian exilees with
valuable skills to return home, offering them amnesty. A few
officials of the former government have returned and resumed
careers outside politics, apparently without difficulties.
Others have remained abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom
and other parts of Western Europe, in order to conduct active
opposition to the PNDC or out of fear of political persecution.
With regard to forced or compulsory labor, see Section 6.c.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
There are two court systems in Ghana. In the regular
"prerevolutionary" court system, traditional legal safeguards
are based on British legal practices. Trials are public, and
defendants have a right to be present, to be represented by an
attorney, and to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
This system includes high courts, appeal courts, and a supreme
court headed by a chief justice. There are limitations,
however, to the independence of the regular courts. In April
1986, the PNDC summarily dismissed 16 judges, alleging that
they were guilty of malfeasance. By this action, the PNDC put
judges in the regular courts on notice that they serve at its
sufferance. The independent Ghana Bar Association has urged
the reestablishment of a judicial council to protect judges
from arbitrary dismissal and preserve judicial independence.
A separate public tribunals system at the national and regional
levels was set up by the PNDC in 1982 to bypass the regular
court system and speed up the judicial process by deemphasizing
legal "technicalities." This system includes the Office of
Revenue Commissioners, the National Investigations Committee
(which, established by PNDC Law 2, has the power to investigate
virtually any allegation referred to it by the PNDC), the
Special Military Tribunal, and the Public Tribunals Board.
Most sensitive political cases and those involving security
issues and capital punishment are heard by public tribunals.
No appeals were permitted until 1985, when the National Appeals
Tribunal was created.
The public tribunals depend largely on judges with little or no
legal experience, and they shortcut legal safeguards and due
process to provide "rough and ready" justice. Presiding judges
are more often laymen than lawyers; there are no published
guidelines concerning the admissibility of evidence; and
conviction is by majority vote of the panel trying a case.
Critics also contend that meaningful appeals are impossible
because no adequate record is kept of initial hearings before
tribunals. Judges on the appeals panel are drawn from the same
pool of "lay judges" who hear initial cases. In the course of
a September conference for tribunal officials, government
officials proposed the establishment of regional appeal
tribunals and the publication of tribunal judgments. The Ghana
Bar Association, citing such shortcomings, has elected not to
practice before the public tribunals. However, a number of
lawyers have ignored the Bar Association's decision and will
defend clients before the public tribunals.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
Citizens not engaged in activity objectionable to the
Government are generally free from interference with regard to
private conduct, although some critics characterize the local
Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) as
"neighborhood watch committees." Monitoring of telephones and
mail occurs, and forced entry into homes has been reported in
connection with security investigations. The State supports
family planning, but there has been no interference with the
right to marry or have children as one chooses.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Freedoms of speech and the press are restricted. Chairman
Rawlings has frequently encouraged people to speak out on
local community concerns, though not on government policy.
However, informers are said to exist, and some Ghanaians
hesitate to speak frankly at public gatherings or to attend
certain functions.
In September the Ghana Bar Association was to host the
biennial meeting of the African Bar Association with the
conference theme to be "Human Rights in Africa." The
Government had been involved in the planning for almost a
year, but, shortly before the conference was scheduled to
open, the Government withdrew its financial and logistical
support. Faced with this official oppositon, the Bar
Association canceled the meeting. The Government also
confiscated the passport of the Ghana Bar Association
President amidst allegations in a government-owned newspaper
that he had planned to use the conference to destabilize the
Government.
The Government owns the radio and television stations and the
two principal daily newspapers. Reporting in government-owned
media accentuates positive aspects of government policies but
also covers selected instances of corruption and mismanagement
in government agencies and state-owned enterprises. In
general, media criticism of government policies or of Chairman
Rawlings and PNDC members, as well as of foreign and domestic
policies, is not tolerated. Journalists are subject to
discipline or dismissal by the Government for running articles
deemed unacceptable. The editor of the government-owned
weekly The Mirror was dismissed in August 1988.
On occasion, the few remaining privately owned newspapers have
tried to be relatively bold in reporting selected issues,
including editorials and articles criticizing Ghana's foreign
policy and the Economic Recovery Program (ERP) . However,
several privately owned newspapers have closed down in recent
years, and in December 1985 the Government banned publication
of the Catholic Standard; it remained banned in 1989, although
Chairman Rawlings has said publicly that the ban is being
reconsidered.
A few foreign periodicals such as West Africa, Time, and
Newsweek are sold freely in Accra and other major cities, and
even issues critical of Ghana are allowed to circulate. Most
Western journalists are now routinely accorded visas and press
credentials as opposed to the practices of a few years ago.GHAHA
Academic freedom is respected within the confines of the
campus. The National Union of Ghanaian Students, one of the
more vocal critics of the PNDC, is tolerated and allowed to
organize and hold meetings. Several political organizations,
including the June Fourth Movement and the New Democratic
Movement (NDM) , were founded by faculty and students at the
University of Ghana. The NDM is viewed with particular
suspicion by the PNDC. Just prior to examinations in May
1988, university students demonstrated over campus issues and
forced the closing of all three universities; they reopened in
December. During 1989 the Government made a concerted effort
to improve its relations with the university students. Senior
government officials and students discussed PNDC programs in a
serious but nonconf rontational manner, and Chairman Rawlings
addressed the graduation ceremonies at the three major
institutions without incident.
Critics have charged, and the PNDC Chairman has publicly
admitted, that fear of government reaction has led to the
creation of a "culture of silence" in Ghana. Senior officials
deplore this and ask people to speak out on issues, but
instances such as the detention of the President and the
Secretary General of the Ghana Bar Association in June
demonstrate that to do so can be dangerous and that the
boundaries of permissible discussion are still vague.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of assembly and association are also restricted.
Individuals generally are free to join together formally or
informally to promote benevolent or nonpolitical causes, but
permits are required for public meetings or demonstrations,
and these are seldom granted for political purposes,
particularly if the applicant's views are at odds with those
of the Government. Political parties and political meetings
are prohibited. The Government barred persons with close ties
to the old parties from running as candidates for election to
the district assemblies.
Ghana has many private religious, social, and cultural
organizations which are allowed to organize and gather with a
minimum of legal or informal restrictions.
For a discussion of freedom of association as it applies to
labor unions, see section 6. a.
c. Freedom of Religion
There is no state-favored religion. Ghanaians are
predominantly Christian, and many senior government officials
are practicing members of various Protestant sects or Roman
Catholicism, with no particular advantages or disadvantages
attached to membership.
PNDC efforts to urge the major religious communities to
support its economic and social policies has created tension
between them and the Government. Chairman Rawlings publicly
criticized the Roman Catholic Church's prohibition on its
priests participating in the district assemblies. The PNDC
has also been sensitive to criticism of Ghana's human rights
record by leaders of various denominations. Chairman Rawlings
has not renewed his 1987 charge that worldwide church and
Christian organizations may be havens for foreign spy networks,
In June 1989, the Government laid down guidelines for the
registration of all religious organizations and made it clea
r
that any organization whose actions, it concluded, would lead
to social disruption or would offend the morals of the people
would not be registered, and thus not tolerated. The
Government requires full information about the property and
financial assets of the churches and makes the boards of
governors personally liable for contraventions.
Subsequently, the Government "froze" the assets of four
churches, two indigenous Christian churches, plus the
Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) . The expatriate personnel of the
Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons were expelled with 7 days'
notice. The Government alleged that the Jehovah's Witnesses
refused to recognize Ghana's symbols of authority and that the
Mormons advocated racism. Ghanaian members of the Mormon
church have not been further harassed, but expatriate Mormons
have not been allowed to resume their missionary activities in
Ghana. At present, these four churches have not been allowed
to apply for registration.
Other foreign missionary groups have generally operated
throughout the country with a minimum of formal restrictions,
but some foreign missionaries find obtaining visas is becoming
more difficult. At least one missionary was denied entry in
1989 despite possessing a valid visa.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Ghanaians and foreigners are free to move throughout Ghana
without special permission. Police checkpoints exist
countrywide, allegedly for the prevention of smuggling, but
are less obtrusive than in the 1982-84 period. Roadblocks and
car searches are still a normal part of nighttime travel in
Accra.
As members of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS), Ghanaians may travel without visas for up to 90 days
in member states. Ghanaians are generally free to exercise
this right, and nationals of other member states are free to
travel to Ghana. In August-September 1989, longtime Ghanaian
residents of Liberia and longtime Liberian residents of Ghana
abruptly returned to their "home" countries amidst press
allegations that they had been deported. Both Governments
officially denied their citizens had been deported. Ghanaians
are also free to emigrate or to be repatriated from other
countries. If a person is considered a security threat,
special permission to travel outside Ghana must be obtained.
There is no forced resettlement of populations. The
Government has not established policies to deal with the
roughly 150 refugees registered with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees. Many unregistered refugees from
the Sahelian drought in neighboring countries remain in Ghana,
and efforts to settle or move these basically nomadic peoples
have had only limited success.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
There is no procedure by which citizens can freely and
peacefully change their laws, officials, or form of
government. Chairman Rawlings and the PNDC exercise total
executive, legislative, judicial, and administrative power.
The National Commission for Democracy (NCD) was established in1984 to design new "democratic" structures which would help
establish the legitimacy of the PNDC.
In December 1988, and in January and February 1989, the first
elections of any kind since 1979 were held in Ghana to
establish district assemblies in 10 regions. An estimated
58.9 percent of the electorate, higher in the rural areas than
in the urban areas, turned out for the elections which were
generally peaceful and unaccompanied by fraud. The contests
revolved around the candidates' probity and competence. These
local assemblies have limited authority, and the PNDC has
emphasized that the first priority of the assemblies is to
establish local development programs. The Government names
one-third of the members of each assembly, which conduct
meetings and formulate development programs within guidelines
laid down by the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCC)
established in August 1989. The RCCs are dominated by
government-appointed officials.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
There are no known locally organized hiunan .Ights groups
currently dealing wich Ghanaian human rights matters. Several
other organizations—most notably the Ghana Bar
Association—have attempted to address human rights ^ssues
from time to cime. The Gove^"nment ' s reactions to Irhese
efforts have ranged rrom indifference to active
discouragement. The Government does permit the International
Committee of the Red Cross co visit prisons. In September
1988, Ghana hosted a meeting of the International Federation
of Women Lawyers, which addressed human rights in Ghana, but
in 1989 it blocked ihe African Bar Association meeting. A
representative of Amnesty International applied to visit Ghana
in 1989 but was denied a visa.
The Government is sensitive to charges of abuse of human
rights and stoutly dsfends ics practices. The PNDC is
particularly cricical of charges from numan rights groups in
the West that it lacks a democratic structure. It insists
that 'participatory democracy" through people "s involvement in
mass organizacions such as che Commi : ees for the Defense of
the Revolution and the 3ist December Women's Movement has
'grassroocs" support and ts more broadly democratic than
previous Ghanaian governmencs. Ghana is a .Tiember of the U.N.
Human Sights Commission.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
Although ethnic dicferences are intentionally downplaved by
the Government, occasional charges are aired that the PNDC and
the political leadership are dominateu by the Ewe etnair group
from eastern Ghana Chairman Rawlingb and a number or his
close advisors are Ewe.
The Government has made a concerted effort to raise the status
of women in Ghana. In 1985 it promulgated four laws which
overturned many of the customary, tiaditional, and :.olonial
laws which discriminated against women. These concerned
family accountability, intestate su<.;»'ession, customa'i divorce
registracions , and the administration of estates. Women in
urban centers and chose who nave enveied the inodern sector
encounter little overt bias, but resistance co women inGJHAHA
nontraditional roles persists. Women in the rural
agricultural sector remain subject to traditional male
dominance. Women do have a significant economic role as
market traders.
violence against women, including wife beating, occurs, but,
as there are no statistics or studies available, the extent of
the problem is unknown. Police do not normally intervene in
domestic disputes, and such cases seldom come before the
courts. Female mutilation (e.g., clitoridectomy) is practiced
only in the far northeast and northwest parts of the country.
The Government discourages the practice, although it has not
made it illegal. The 31st December Women's Movement, led by
Chairman Rawlings' wife Nana Komadu Agyeman-Rawlings
,
prominently promotes the economic and social development of
women.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The PNDC has not interfered with the right of workers to
associate in labor unions. Trade unions in Ghana and their
activities are still governed by the Industrial Relations Act
(IRA) of 1958, as amended in 1965 and 1972. The independent
Trades Union Congress (TUC) , established in 1958, represents
organized labor in Ghana. It consists of a national
headquarters and 16 affiliated unions, representing a claimed
total membership of about 700,000 workers in skilled and
semiskilled trades. Union members elect their own leaders,
and representatives of the affiliated unions elect the TUC
leadership at quadrennial conferences, the most recent having
been in March 1988. The TUC publishes its own newspaper. It
is independent of government subventions and has publicly
criticized the Government at times for its economic policies
as well as its failure adequately to consult the trade union
movement.
The right to strike is recognized in law and in practice,
although the Government has on occasion taken strong action to
end strikes, especially those which threaten interests it
perceives as vital. Under the IRA, the Government has
established a system under which it seeks first to conciliate,
then arbitrate, disputes. Discussions have been under way for
some time to replace this system with labor tribunals to
arbitrate industrial disputes certified as deadlocked. The
Government has declared that establishment of labor tribunals
must be part of a new, consolidated industrial relations act,
which cannot be implemented piecemeal.
For several years the International Labor Organization (ILO)
Committee of Experts (COE) has criticized various aspects of
Ghanaian legislation pertaining to freedom of association.
The COE, again in 1989, expressed the hope that measures would
be taken to bring Ghana's laws into conformity with ILO
Convention 87 which Ghana ratified in 1967.
The TUC is affiliated with the Organization of African Trade
Union Unity (OATUU) . Consistent with OATUU guidelines, it
maintains no other international affiliations, although it has
friendly relations with other international labor
organizations, including the International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions and the Communist-controlled World
Federation of Trade Unions.SHAM
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The right to organize is generally respected. Civil servants,
however, are prohibited by law from joining or organizing a
trade union. The TUC is a large, well-established union
organization whose membership has shown little growth in
recent years. Ghana's trade unions engage in collective
bargaining for wages and benefits with both private and
state-owned enterprises, though in the latter category the
threat of detention (a common practice in the early 1980 's)
hangs over union leaders to force agreement on issues. At the
end of 1989, no union leaders were under detention for
union-related activities. Akwasi Adu-Amankwa, a union leader
detained at the end of 1988 for activities not related to his
union responsibilities, was released and allowed to enter a
training program offered in the Netherlands.
There are no functioning export processing zones in Ghana, and
labor legislation is applied uniformly throughout the country.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Ghanaian law prohibits forced labor, and it is not known to be
practiced. For a number of years, however, the ILO's COE has
urged the Government to revise various legal provisions which
permit imprisonment with an obligation to perform labor for
offenses which are not countenanced under ILO Convention 105,
ratified by Ghana in 1958.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
Labor legislation in Ghana sets a minimum employment age of 15
and prohibits night uork and certain types of hazardous labor
for those under 18. In practice, child labor is prevalent,
and young children of school age can often be found during the
day performing menial tasks in the market or collecting fares
on local buses. Enforcement of minimum age laws is uneven,
especially since local custom and economic circumstances favor
children working to help their families. Violators of
regulations prohibiting heavy labor and night work for
children are occasionelly punished.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Minimum standards for wages and working conditions are
established through a tripartite committee composed of
representatives of government, labor, and employees. It
establishes a minimum wage rate, and other salaries are
adjusted accordingly. Effective January 1987, the minimum
wage was increased 25 percent to $0.50 per working day at
current exchange rates. In early 1988, the TUC called for a
"meaningful" national wage of not less than $4.00 per day.
The current "living wage"—consisting of the actual wage and
customary benefits such as transportation and food
allowances—is about $1.00 per working day; the TUC estimates
the daily living costs of a family of four at $5.00. Thus,
the existing minimum wage is insufficient for a single wage
earner to support a family. In most cases, however,
households are supported by multiple wage earners, some family
farming, and other family-based commercial activities. An
upward adjustment in the living wage may be a major
labor/management issue in 1990. The basic workweek in Ghana
is 40 hours. Occupational safety and health regulations are
in effect, and sanctions are occasionally applied to violators
