The Human Rights Advocacy Centre

Wednesday was my first day working with the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC) in Accra. After a little confusion (see previous post) I managed to find my way to the office. As soon as I walked in I could tell it was a self-consciously political place. The steps up to the office are lined with portraits of powerful black women: jazz singers, Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone; former US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice; activists, Thyra Edwards and Sojourner Truth; author, Maya Angelou; former Ghanaian Foreign Minister, Gloria Amon Nikoi;  the first woman to be elected a member of a Ghanaian legislative assembly, Mabel Dove-Danquah; former Supreme Court Judge and Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, Joyce Banford-Addo; and general all-round incredible woman, Oprah Winfrey. Malcolm X, Dr Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela also feature on HRAC’s walls.

   

I will be with HRAC for the next month, thanks to the generosity of the Commonwealth in England Barristers’ Association (CEBA). Each year, CEBA sends a junior lawyer/law student, who has completed their Bar exams, to a Commonwealth country for one month to gain experience and to forge bonds with lawyers working overseas. If you are interested in applying for this opportunity, take a look at my post dated 2^nd July 2014, “Opportunities for young lawyers”.

Last year’s recipient of the CEBA scholarship spent her month in Ghana visiting numerous different organisations and making court visits. I have chosen to spend my month somewhat differently and dedicate my month here to working with one organisation where I hope my skills can be put to good use.

Today was my induction day. I took a tour through the small office and began to get to grips with the various projects HRAC is currently working on. HRAC was originally founded by Nana Oye Lithur. Nana was a lawyer with a practice advocating for women, and in particular domestic violence victims. She was head of the African chapter of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. With first-hand experience of abuses occurring every day in Ghana, in 2008 she decided to found HRAC, an organisation specifically designed to advance and protect human rights in Ghana. Nana is now an advisor at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.

HRAC is now an established NGO in Ghana. It is made up of Ghanaian permanent staff and a team of volunteers, both international and young Ghanaians undertaking national service. Its aim is the promotion, protection and realisation of human rights in Ghana, and the advancement of democracy, good governance, and public accountability.

HRAC organises its work around project-based, evidence-led advocacy initiatives, as well as individual case work. It also undertakes education and outreach work, and gives training sessions to vulnerable and at risk populations on their rights, as well as human rights training to lawyers and law students.

HRAC's work is currently focussed on four project areas:

• Access to health for survivors of gender based violence;
• Combating HIV/AIDS among victims of gender based violence by improving access to Post Exposure Prophylaxis;
• Increasing access to legal aid and human rights education for remand prisoners;
• Preventing gender-based violence in schools.

Additionally, HRAC is currently developing its strategy to promote LGBT rights in Ghana. It also runs a Human Rights Clinic, which provides legal advice directly to members of the public, as well as carrying out mediation. Where HRAC comes across a case that it thinks should go to court, it identifies a lawyer to take the case from its network of pro bono lawyers.

For more information about HRAC’s work, or if you would like to volunteer with them, please visit their website: http://www.hracghana.org/