ASSIGNMENT ONE

STUDENT ID: 10711813

INSTRUCTOR: PAUL ACHEAMPONG BOAKYE(PhD)

ANNIHILATING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE IN GHANA’S PRISONS: ISSUES

AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

INTRODUCTION

Like never before, issues of human right abuse has gained prominent attention in

Ghana and one of such issues is the ill-treatment meted out on inmates in the various

prisons of Ghana which unquestionably has made its way into the mainstream of

political and social trends in recent times. Issues of human rights in the prisons sector

of Ghana has not been given the best of priority until certain civil societies have

expressed concerns on how the custodians of rights have been denied their rights. The

prison yards have come under severe criticism as to how prison inmates are treated.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCR,2013),

Ghana has signed and endorsed various international human rights treaties but they do

not find manifestation in the area of prisons. Series of documentaries and interviews

of ex-convicts reveals that the prisons of Ghana have become the theatre of human
rights abuse of the highest order. This paper outlines the issues of inhuman conditions

that exists in Ghana’s prisons and also elucidates the reader on some of the major

challenges that confronts the proper administration of human rights in Ghana’s

prisons sector as well make recommendations that can curb the situation.

BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Drawing inspiration from series of articles, journals and following the media closely, I

discovered a mishappening in the prison chambers of Ghana. Prisons have become

hubs of cruelty, inclemency, wickedness and inhumanity in Ghana. Juan E. Méndez,

the United Nations Special Rapporteur On Torture and Other Human Rights

concluded when He visited prisons in Ghana in 2013 that, “the conditions in Ghana’s

prisons constitute in themselves a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.”

(OHCR, 2013). The 2019 Ghana’s Human Rights Report further disclosed that the

prison chambers of Ghana are typically cruel and sometimes life-threatening due the

presence of population explosion, poor sanitary conditions, absence of healthcare,

physical abuse, and food scarcity among others. (OHCR, 2013). Convicts who had

been put on the death sentence go through severe mental torture and physical trauma

including anxiety created by the fear of death and hopelessness (OHRC, 2013). In the

face of these human right crisis in the prison cubicles, the Ghana Prisons Service

(GPS) came up with a Ten-Year Strategic Plan of 2015-2025 to draft an expert

solution to the abuse of Human Rights in Prison however these strategies have not

seen the light of the day.(GPS, 2013)

Despite the massive revelations brought forth by scholars and experts, there seems to

be a knowledge gap. The knowledge gap I discovered was not the absence of

strategies and recommendations but the absence of how to implement those policies
and how to make them find expression in Ghana’s prison sector. Even those that gave

recommendations left a huge gap on how to effectively implement those ideas. This

served as my motivation to bring to bear strategies and policies that the Ghana Prisons

Service can implement to tackle these inhuman conditions as well as how to

implement them effectively.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The widespread abuse of human rights in Ghana particularly in the Prison’s sector has

attracted a bad name for Ghana in the international community in recent times.

Despite the attempts of the Ghana Prisons Service to curb inhuman treatment meted

out on inmates, they have been proven to be futile. Several Government Institutions,

Church Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society Groups

have attempted to help combat the inhuman treatment, yet the incidence of ill-

treatment allied with abuses and impoverished conditions still find expression in

every prison’s bedchamber in Ghana.(Sarkin, 2008) There has also been many

suggestions by scholars, concerned citizens and stakeholders yet issues of

maltreatment still persists in Ghana’s prisons. This qualitative research seeks to bring

to the limelight the possible ideas and formidable strategies which can be

implemented effectively by the Ghana Prisons Service to do away with human right

abuses.

METHODOLOGY
I will deploy the Qualitative Method of research to do an extensive probe into the root

causes of human rights abuse in Ghana’s prison sector as well as make formidable

recommendations and how those recommendations can be discharged effectively to

combat the issue on hand. The Case Study method would be employed to comparatively

study two nations (Netherlands and The United Kingdom) that have transformed their

prisons sector to meet the international standards for human rights in prisons. I will then

extract the practical strategies used by these two nations to make a recommendation for

Ghana to make use of “Alternative Punishments” and to Privatize her prisons so that the

cost of maintaining inmates would be downsized (Glushko, 2016). The Action Research

approach will be adopted to ensure that the policies discussed in the research is

effectively prosecuted.

OVERVIEW OF THE METHODS AND CRITIQUES

The case study method was used by the Government of Australia to adopt the

Privatization strategy which was working effectively in the United Kingdom and upon

its implementation, the cost of maintaining prisoners reduced, the level of well being

of inmates improved and prisoners acquired skills that helped them when they ended

their sentences (Glushko, 2016). However, the case study method has a limitation

because the context in which it was used in Australia is quite different from the

Ghanaian terrain. Australia is a purely capitalist state which made it possible to

involve the private sector in the implementation of this great policy whiles Ghana on

the other hand does not have a definite political ideology. Ghana’s ideology depends

on the party that is in power, hence, there would be a bit of difficulty when the party

in power does not have a soft-spot for capitalism and privatization.(Obeng-Odoom,

2013 ).
 Netherlands also through the Action Research implemented the 'Alternative Penalties'

strategies and this proved to be a very effective idea in reducing the overcrowding

problem in their prison chambers. It now ranks among the world’s least prison

populations.(World Prison Brief, 1970). However, the Action Research would seem to

be a bit problematic to implement the ‘Alternative Punishment’ since Ghana is one of

the nations with the highest rates of bribery and corruption. Offenders of the law

would be possibly left to go scot-free since officials can easily be bribed. This will

allow offenders to avoid the Alternative Sentences.(Transparency International,

2020).

REFERENCES

Glushko, A. (2016). “Doing Well and Doing Good: The Case For Privatising Prisons”.

Policy Magazine. Vol. 32, No. 1. Australia: The Centre for Independent Studies. Pp 19-23.

World Prison Brief.(1970). “Netherlands.” Institute for Criminal Policy Research:USA.

Retrieved from on 4th October 2020 from www.prisonstudies.org/country/netherlands.

Transparency International (2020). Corruption Perception Index Report 2020. Germany.

Retrieved on 4th October 2021 from https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020

Obeng-Odoom, F.(2013). The Nature Of Ideology In Ghana’s 2012 Election. University of

Technology: Australia. Retrieved on 3rd October 2021 from

https://www.eisa.org/pdf/JAE12.2Odoom.pdf

Sarkin, J. (2008). Human Rights in African Prisons. Ohio University Press. Retrieved on 3rd

October 2021 from

OHCR

UNHCR

Ghana Prisons Service(2013). Ten Year