UN gives human rights manuals to 10 institutions

Accra, Feb 3, GNA-The United Nations Agency in Ghana on Thursday donated 47 copies of Basic Human Rights Manuals to 10 institutions working in that sector to enhance their knowledge and practice of human rights.

Featured in the manuals were titles such as International Bill on Human Rights, African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement.

Some of the beneficiary institutions were the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Ghana Police Service, Police Training College, Judicial Service, Commission Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Office of the Attorney General, the Gender Centre and the Legion Centre for International Affairs.

The donation of the manuals follows the appointment of Advisor on Governance and Peace to the UN Country Team to incorporate human rights in all features of the development agenda.

Mr Alfred Sallia Fawundu, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who witnessed the presentation, said under the current reforms of the United Nations, the UNDP was expected to help Ghana adopt human rights approaches in developing agriculture, industry and co-operatives.

"Our mandate is to make sure to form an alliance with you and to establish good relations with user agencies [of the manuals]," Mr Fawundu said.

Mrs Justice Helena Inkumsah Abban, a High Court Judge, representing the Chief Justice, thanked the UN Agency for the support.

She also, on behalf of the beneficiaries, expressed appreciation to the donor for making funds available for human rights issues recently. Dorothy Rozga, Country Director of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund announced that the UN Agency in Ghana was currently developing a new programme to strengthen human rights institutions.