International human rights organization cautions government against its foreign statements.
An international human rights organization, BAF-Ghana International Human Rights Service, a Belgium based organization has cautioned Ghana government against certain statements it makes on foreign issues.
Some of the statements,the organization warned, affect its nationals directly on the blind side of government. According to BAF-Ghana, statements either from the foreign affairs ministry or government officials on Ghanaian citizens resident in Europe could be misconstrued and its negative implications on the citizens earning a living abroad.
The caution follows video and audios messages obtained by BAF-Ghana criticizing Ghanaian authorities over the treatment meted out to them by some Europeans.
The Founder of BAF-Ghana Mrs Sala Ouedraogo told Zaa News her Belgium based outfit has nothing to do with the current difficulties confronting Ghanaians living in Europe.
According to her, the organization is under intense pressure from Ghanaians over the issues but was working hard to establish contact with Ghana embassies and consulates to address the problem.
She state categorically that they have no idea whatsoever of the issue abroad and has not conferred with any officialdom in Ghana on the matter.
According to some Ghanaians resident in Malta, since president Nana Addo’s government allegedly made such pronouncements that purportedly said Ghanaians living in Holland, Germany and Malta and other European countries were going through a lot of ordeals in those countries. This is because European leaders have been mapping up strategies to deal with increasing flows of immigrants and refugees from war-tone countries such as Syria issue.
Ghana foreign minister comment during vetting
During the vetting of the foreign affairs minister Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwe, she told appointment committee of parliament that it will very difficult for Ghana foreign mission to regularize citizens of Ghana who enter another countries illegal.
She told the committee that Ghana is not bad and it’s citizens outside must come back home. The statement from the foreign affairs minister went down well with some European leaders and initiatives are said to be underway to get Ghanaians out of their countries.
A few weeks after her vetting, the human rights organization quoted a resident in the Italian city of Milan as saying that the comment by the minister was either misconstrued or understood to mean a different thing rather the real motives, hence their current predicament. Milan is a town in Italy near Sicilia, and is said to have Ghanaians working and remitting their relatives back in Ghana.
BAF-Ghana for the past years have been helping citizens abroad in terms of registrations and data collection in Ghana and out side Ghana, ( Ghana international human rights ID CARD).
Beginnings Aid Foundation International, a subsidiary of BAF conducted investigation in 2016, proved that Ghana as a developing country, has a lot of problems and they advised that those problems should be tackled first in the country before those abroad.
They also mentioned that if one is from a good home in Ghana, he/she would not have much problems as someone from a poor home in Makola and Agbobolsi. The poor ones end up sleeping outside on the verandah of someone’s shop or store, they really have big problems. BAF said, those who are already deported to Ghana, should be helped by the government with money, accommodation and good jobs to enable them fit very well into society.
“BAF Ghana International human rights service ministries, is all ready to welcome the new Ambassadors and their ministers in abroad, we would work together for the betterment of Ghanaian communities abroad,” the head of the organization said.
BAF is also pleading for equal rights and justice for all Ghanaians in the Ghana Embassy’s all over the world, the founder said. Meanwhile, the human rights organization is dragging the Ghana consulate in Belgium to court over a victim of alleged human rights abuses.
The victim hails from Techiman in the Brong Ahafo region