We Don't Need Your 'Cut And Paste Report'; We Already Have a Human Rights Lawyer As President - Akim Oda MP Tells US

Alexander Akwasi Acquah, a Member of Parliament(MP) for the Akim Oda constituency has rebuked the US Department of State for poking its nose into the affairs of the nation.

"Don’t we know what happens in the US? Or you're a big brother so we can’t talk about them? We need to come together and expose reports like this; they’re not credible . . . can’t we write reports better than this?" he said.

Human Rights report

The US Department of State's human rights report on Ghana has generated some form of controversy in the country.

The lengthy report titled "2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ghana" according to some critics has painted a negative picture of Ghana's judiciary as it alleged the Judicial officials tend to be corrupt.

The report read; "While the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary was subject to unlawful influence and corruption. Judicial officials reportedly accepted bribes to expedite or postpone cases, “lose” records, or issue favorable rulings for the payer of the bribe. A judicial complaints unit within the Ministry of Justice headed by a retired Supreme Court justice addressed complaints from the public, such as unfair treatment by a court or judge, unlawful arrest or detention, missing trial dockets, delayed trials and rendering of judgments, and bribery of judges. The government generally respected court orders."

It also touched on other areas of Ghana's economy, one of such is respect for the integrity of persons.

The US report stated that, "there were a few reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. Offices charged with investigating security force killings include the Special Investigations Branch of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Police Professional Standards Bureau. On June 26, unidentified perpetrators beat #FixTheCountry movement supporter and social activist Ibrahim “Kaaka” Muhammed in Ejura, Ashanti Region. On June 28, he died in the hospital from his injuries."

Ghana's human rights President

Contributing to a panel discussion on UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' programme, the Akim Oda MP said Ghana already has a Human rights lawyer and advocate as a President, hence we don't need "a cut and paste report".

"What criteria did they use . . . it looks like they only cut and paste; painting Ghana black, but we know our President is a human rights advocate," he indicated.