Transitional Justice in West Africa

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Ghana

• Ghana is bordered by Togo in the east, Cote d'Ivoire in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and the Gulf of Guinea/Atlantic Ocean in the south.
• Ghana was the first African colonial country to achieve independence. Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast) became independent from British colonial rule in 1957. Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah was a major advocate of pan-Africanism and unity on the continent.

Ethnic Diversity

Over 100 linguistic and ethnic groups have been identified in Ghana, and these groups have maintained a sense of ethnic identity. However, the population is classified into two major linguistic families: the Kwa and the Gur. The Kwa speakers, traditionally associated with the area south of the Volta, make up about 75 percent of the population. Members of the Gur linguistic family live mainly in the northern regions of the country. While English is the country's official language, over 250 languages and dialects are spoken throughout the country.

According to a 2000 census, 68.8% of Ghanaians are Christian, 15.9% are Muslim, while the rest are mainly those following traditional beliefs or none at all.

Politics

Since attaining independence in March 1957, Ghana has experienced a difficult political history characterized by authoritarian and military rule with accompanying human rights abuses. Kwame Nkrumah's regime lasted only 6 years before he was overthrown by the armed forces and police. Decades of interchanging civilian and military governments, brought about by multiple coups, followed. Military regimes, particularly that of President Jerry Rawlings and his Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, committed human rights abuses as standard practice in order to consolidate power. Arbitrary imprisonment, confiscation of property, disappearances, executions, and torture became common.

Somehow, in the midst of political upheaval and repression, Ghana became the most stable and prosperous nation in West Africa and now provides a model of development for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. In January 2001, for the first time in Ghana's 44 years of independence, a change of government was effected by a general election instead of by military coup. In his acceptance speech, the newly elected president, John Agyekum Kufuor, promised an active policy of national reconciliation designed to heal the wounds of the past. In January 2002, he signed into law a bill creating the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) to examine decades of human rights abuse. The NRC for the first time provided Ghanaians the opportunity to publicly relate their experiences of abuse, uncover the truth about the past, and seek redress.

Other Major Issues:

(from UNDP)

Ghana is not a conflict country; however issues about access to and use of natural resources, appointment and elevation to chieftaincy, as well as the use and management of community resources by chiefs have led to a multitude of prolonged community level conflicts nation-wide. According to national security sources, there are estimated to be over two hundred major chieftaincy disputes across the country. Multiple factors underlie chieftaincy disputes and conflicts, the most prominent being the following:

• Succession rules, practices and processes;
• Destoolment;
• Corruption;
• Misuse of stool properties and revenues;
• Disposal of and/or alienation of stool property, particularly stool lands without the consent and agreement of the principal elders of the stool;
• Unwillingness to differentiate between public stool and private properties;
• The inability of the both the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs to mitigate, manage and/or resolve conflicts brought before these Houses, as a result of alleged corruption and the lack of judicial and research capacities to dispense with cases expeditiously and judiciously; and
• Political interference

The situation is exacerbated by a wide prevalence of small arms and light weapons throughout Ghana.

Part Two - Transitional Justice in Ghana

Additional Resources

Ghana Timeline (BBC)

ICTJ Activity in Ghana (International Center for Transitional Justice)

Ghana's National Reconciliation Commission: A Comparative Assessment (ICTJ)

Ghana's National Reconciliation Commission (Peace Magazine, 2003)

Gender, Justice, and Reconciliation: Lessons from Ghana's NRC (CDD/CI Workshop June 2007)

Power Sharing and Ethnic Conflict in Dagbon and the Northern Region of Ghana

State Department Human Rights Report 2007 - Ghana