Safeguarding Human Rights: Reflections from UCC’s 11th Annual Jurist Confab

July 15, 2023

The Faculty of Law, University of Cape Coast, on 28 June 2024 held its 11^th Jurist Confab under the theme ‘Human Rights Under The 4^th Republican Constitution: Threats and Triumphs”.

The annual lecture invites prominent members of the society and esteemed members of the legal fraternity to dissect contemporary and evolving legal issues with the aim of enriching Ghana’s Jurisprudence. This year’s edition took place at the auditorium of the School of Graduate Studies, UCC.

Speakers for the Confab, drawn from academia, legal practice and the medical Field, include Prof. Agyemang Badu Akosah, Mr. Joseph A. Whittal, the CHRAG Commissioner, and the keynote speaker, Dr. Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom, a lecturer at KNUST Law Faculty and Howard University, USA.

In her keynote speech, Dr. Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom focused on gender rights: centering primarily on the principles enshrined in Article 17 of the Constitution, 1992. She drew on women’s rights i.e. issues relating to data on the Global, National and Personal perspective. She observed that in a majoritarian democratic system, it is fair and proper that priority is given to the upliftment of the female population.

She also called for the protection from dehumanizing customary practices which are at variance with Article 26 of the Constitution. By adhering to the tenets of Article 36(6), 22 and 27(3), Dr. Addadzi-Koom believes that the interest of women will be safely protected and guarded.

For his part, Mr. Joseph A. Whittal, the CHRAG Commissioner, pointed out that human rights protection under the Fourth Republican Constitution has been satisfactory. According to the CHRAG Commisioner, the activism of the courts has deprecated historically degrading and oppressive practices. Legislative initiatives have also strengthened human rights in the country. Still, the CHRAG Boss observed that the triumphs in the protection of human rights, notwithstanding, there exist threats such as (low trust in critical state institutions, Police weaponization of the Public Order Act, Galamsey, constant tension between human rights and culture) which, if unchecked, have the potential to erode the gains made thus far.

While looking forward to next year’s event, we cannot but emphasized the essence of such regular engagements between the students, academia and professional bodies.

Indeed, Students interviewed by 233legal.com expressed their gratitude to the Dean of the faculty,Dr Julia Selman-Ayetey and urged the University to stay true to it’s mandate of affording law student wholistic legal education to prepare them for the world ahead