Amnesty International 23 May 2013 President John Atta Mills died in July. His deputy, John Dramani Mahama, was immediately sworn in as President. General elections were held in December 2012 and John Dramani Mahama was declared the winner. In June, the government published its White Paper in response to the Constitutional Review Commission’s (CRC) final report. The government did not publish the final report itself. By the end of the year, the Freedom of Information bill had not become law. Read the full report here.

United States Department of State 19 April 2013 Ghana is a constitutional democracy with a strong presidency and a unicameral, 275-seat parliament. In late 2008 the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) won both the presidency and a small majority in parliament in an election deemed generally free and fair by domestic and international observers. NDC candidate John Evans Atta Mills became president in early 2009 for a four-year term. When President Mills died in July, Vice President John Dramani Mahama assumed the office of president. President Mahama won reelection in December. There were instances in which elements of the security Read the full article…

United States Department of State 19 June 2012 Ghana is a country of origin, transit, and destination for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. The trafficking of Ghanaian citizens, particularly children, within the country is more prevalent than the transnational trafficking of foreign migrants. Ghanaian boys and girls are subjected to conditions of forced labor within the country in fishing, domestic service, street hawking, begging, portering, artisanal gold mining, and agriculture. Ghanaian girls, and to a lesser extent boys, are subjected to prostitution within Ghana. Child prostitution, and possibly child sex tourism, are prevalent in Read the full article…

Amnesty International Annual Report 2012: The state of the world’s human rights Published 24 May 2012 Thousands remained under threat of forced eviction. The criminal justice system remained slow, and prisons overcrowded and poorly resourced. Four people were sentenced to death; there were no executions. High levels of violence against women and girls were reported. Background The Constitution Review Commission, inaugurated in January 2010 by President Mills to conduct public consultation on the 1992 Constitution, published its report in December. Its recommendations included abolition of the death penalty, and direct enforcement of decisions by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Read the full article…

BBC News 2 November 2011 Ghana’s President John Atta Mills has rejected the UK’s threat to cut aid if he refuses to legalise homosexuality. Mr Atta Mills said the UK could not impose its values on Ghana and he would never legalise homosexuality. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said at the weekend that aid would be cut to countries which failed to respect gay rights. Uganda also rejected the threat, with an official accusing the UK of showing a “bullying mentality”. Most Africans argue that homosexuality violates their religious and cultural beliefs. Mr Atta Mills said Mr Cameron was entitled Read the full article…