Torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees remain prevalent in the Ghana Police Service, the U.S. Department of State’s 2021 Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released on 12 April 2022 has said.
It noted: “While the constitution and law prohibit such practices, there were credible reports police beat and otherwise abused detained suspects and other citizens”.
The report said victims were “often reluctant to file formal complaints”.
Also, the police “generally denied allegations or claimed the level of force used was justified”.
According to the Conduct in UN Field Missions online portal, there was one open allegation of sexual exploitation and abuse by the country’s peacekeepers deployed to the UN Mission in South Sudan: a 2018 case involving 12 peacekeepers’ alleged transactional sex with six adults.
A UN investigation substantiated some of those allegations, leading the United Nations to repatriate the alleged offenders, the report captured.
It said as of December, the United Nations awaited reporting from the government regarding what actions it has taken in response to the allegations the United Nations considered to be substantiated.
“Impunity remained a significant problem in the Ghana Police Service, and the investigation and complaints processes did not effectively address reports of abuses and bribery”, the report observed.
It indicated that corruption, brutality, poor training, lack of oversight, and an overburdened judicial system contributed to impunity.
“The police often failed to respond to reports of abuses and, in many instances, did not act unless complainants paid for police transportation and other operating expenses”, the report added.
It said the Office of the Inspector General of Police and the Police Professional Standards Board investigated claims of excessive force by security force members
Source:Classfmonline.com