Amnesty International (AI) Ghana has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to declare the Anti-Witchcraft Accusations Bill a national priority and certify it as urgent for passage by Parliament.
The CSO said the passage and implementation of the bill would help protect vulnerable groups from violence, discrimination and other human rights abuses linked to witchcraft accusations.
The organisation also called on the Human Rights Committee of Parliament to ensure that the bill was laid before Parliament to necessitate its passage.
“At this critical moment, silence and inaction are not options. We appeal to the government, led by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, to demonstrate clear political will by publicly declaring the bill a national priority and certify it as urgent,” it added.
The acting Director of Amnesty International Ghana, Hannah Osei, made the appeal at the launch of the 2025 State of the World’s Human Rights report in Accra yesterday.
The report examined the state of human rights globally and in the country over the past year, identified progress and persistent challenges in the protection of fundamental freedoms and human dignity.
Bill
The bill seeks to criminalise the practice of witchcraft accusation, naming or labelling of another person as a witch and its related matters.
The last Parliament passed the bill in July, 2023, but it was not assented to by the then President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, and other MPs who sponsored the previous bill said they were working with the government this year to reintroduce the bill to be passed under a certificate of urgency.
Ms Osei said the report documented how 64 per cent of countries tightened controls on freedoms, while wars and climatic crises worsened inequalities and humanitarian suffering.
“In Gaza, Israeli forces committed acts amounting to genocide alongside war crimes and crimes against humanity, devastating entire communities,” she said.
Ms Osei acknowledged positive steps taken by the government in areas such as a presidential pardon granted to nearly 1,000 prisoners to ease congestion in correctional facilities.
Despite the gains, she said challenges such as press freedom and the protection of journalists persisted, citing delays in securing justice in the murder case of the investigative journalist, Ahmed Hussein-Suale.
Ms Osei also mentioned the continuous practise of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in parts of the Upper East and Upper West regions despite existing efforts to eliminate the harmful practice.
Again, she expressed concern over the reintroduction of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, arguing that it threatened to criminalise same-sex relationships and undermine protections against discrimination.
The Board Chair of Amnesty International Ghana, Francis Nyantakyi, called on stakeholders to continue advocating human rights, report abuses and protect vulnerable persons from discrimination and harmful practices.
Parliament
A member of Parliament’s Human Rights Committee, Anthony Mmieh, said the bill, which was yet to be laid before Parliament after Cabinet consideration, was long overdue.
He said members of the committee had visited alleged witch camps and gathered first-hand information on conditions there.
Mr Mmieh, who is also the MP for Odotobri Constituency in the Ashanti Region, said Parliament would act swiftly once the bill was presented.
On the LGBTI bill, he said discussions were ongoing to revise aspects of the bill, including the introduction of new clauses before the second reading, and clause-by-clause consideration in Parliament.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
