Yesterday [June 22, 2022] in Ho, 25 judges chosen from the southern part of the nation completed a three-day training on press freedom and safety.
Ten High Court justices, ten Circuit Court judges, and five Court of Appeal judges from the Greater Accra, Volta, and Central regions were among the attendees.
They were shown the International and Regional Standards on Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Expression and Legitimate Restrictions, and the role of ECOWAS in promoting journalist safety and defending the right to free speech.
The training subjects also included the freedom of the press and journalist protection, as well as the right to access information and the freedom of expression.
UNESCO, the Japanese Embassy in Ghana, and the Judicial Training Institute collaborated to organise the event. Human rights' guiding principle
In a speech read on her behalf at the closing ceremony, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr. Angela Lusigi, stated that freedom of expression is the cornerstone of human rights and a fundamental right to seek, receive, and impart ideas, regardless of frontiers.
She praised UNESCO for its unwavering dedication to leading that agenda.
Dr. Lusigi said that the training was crucial to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16, which emphasised the development of inclusive, peaceful communities, ensuring access to justice for everyone, and creating inclusive, accountable institutions at all levels.
She noted that pandemics and technological change had recently had an impact on how people interacted socially and kept themselves informed.
According to Dr. Lusigi, access to information was restricted at a time when journalists were most required to provide accurate information, refute anti-vaccine arguments, shed light on emergency situations, and expose wrongdoing.
According to the UNDP Resident Representative, this made it challenging to keep responsibility bearers accountable.
global judicial systems
She added that court systems throughout the world were faced with a continually evolving communications environment and they had to consider fresh difficulties including applying rules designed for an offline environment.
In addition to the human rights framework for the media, Dr. Lusigi emphasised the need for additional laws that guaranteed freedom of expression and the safety of journalists as necessary requirements for the growth of democracy and development. Judges play a significant role in ensuring a safe environment for journalists by bringing attackers of journalists to justice.