The Chairman of Parliament’s Human Rights Committee, Ernest Yaw Anim, has called on parliaments worldwide to take a leading role in translating international human rights commitments into concrete national action.
Speaking at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Global Parliamentary Conference on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, the Kumawu MP said international recommendations would have little impact unless parliaments helped ensure their implementation at the national level.
He said Ghana had made progress in implementing several recommendations it had accepted through international human rights processes, with Parliament playing an important role in that effort.
“With the support of Parliament, we have made a great amount of strides in terms of implementation of most of these recommendations that the state at the time supported,” he said.
Mr Anim said the experience demonstrated how legislatures could help ensure that commitments made by governments at international forums, including Geneva, were translated into policies and measures that improve people’s lives.
“Mere recommendations will not translate into actions that will better help our people,” he said.
He argued that responsibility for implementing human rights commitments should not rest solely with the executive, saying parliamentarians had a duty to hold governments accountable and represent the interests of citizens.
“It is not the state alone or the executive alone that should be left to handle most of these recommendations. We have a major role to play, and that is my intervention,” he added.
Mr Anim’s remarks formed part of discussions at the global conference, which brings together parliamentarians and other stakeholders to examine the role of legislatures in promoting and protecting human rights.
His contribution was praised by the session’s moderator, who described it as an excellent intervention, drawing applause from participants.
