By Stanley Senya
Accra, Dec. 10, GNA – The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Africa Office says Africa’s future depends on inclusive development that prioritizes youth empowerment, gender equality, and sustainable environmental practices.
In a statement issued in Accra, CHRI said these efforts were crucial to overcoming poverty, unemployment, and climate change, adding immediate action would ensure no one was left behind.
CHRI joined the global community to commemorate the International Human Rights Day 2024 on the theme: “Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now.”
Human Rights Day is observed annually around the world on December 10, and it commemorates the anniversary of one of the world’s most ground-breaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The landmark document UDHR enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being
regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
It said this year’s theme underscored the urgent need for all stakeholders to prioritize human rights now, not tomorrow, not in the distant future.
The statement said the challenges faced by human rights across the globe and Africa in particular required immediate attention and collective action.
According to the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, António Guterres “human rights are under assault. Tens of millions of people are mired in poverty, hunger, poor health and education systems that have not yet fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It said the theme was very relevant for Ghana, especially amidst the rising incidents of illegal mining popularly known in Ghana as “galamsey” that had led to increased human rights abuses including the right to a safe and healthy environment.
It said a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment was integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation. Without a healthy environment, “we are unable to fulfil our aspirations.”
The statement said many African nations were grappling with climate-induced displacement, food insecurity, and loss of livelihood, a stark reminder that environmental rights and human rights were intricately linked.
“Access to clean water, education, healthcare, and a safe environment are human rights that must be safeguarded now to ensure a sustainable future for the next generations,” it added.
CHRI urged governments to fulfil their human rights obligations by taking effective actions to address violations of all human rights, including environmental rights, especially for vulnerable groups like women, children, and persons with disabilities.
The statement particularly called on the government of Ghana to ensure that the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2022 (L.I. 2462) was repealed as a matter of urgency to safeguard the environmental rights of the people.
It said human rights were indivisible, whether economic, social, civic, cultural or political, when one right was undermined, all rights were undermined.
The statement also called on international organizations, civil society groups, and individuals to stand together for human rights, ensuring that the future stakeholders envisioned for all people was on a foundation of respect for human rights today.
“Let us commit to tangible actions that will make our world more just, inclusive, and equitable. Human rights are not a privilege; they are a birth right, one that is deserved by all, right now,” it said.
GNA