Assessing human rights compliance in Ghana’s prisons: A case study of Awutu camp prison

Abstract

The Study’s main aim is to investigate compliance to human right standards by the Awutu Camp Prison. The study focuses on the identifying the human rights standards and guidelines applicable to prisons in Ghana and specifically Awutu Camp Prison, assess compliance to human rights standards in Awutu Camp Prison, identify factors responsible for human rights violations within Awutu Camp Prison, and how compliance with human rights standards impact the well-being and rehabilitation of inmates in Awutu Camp Prison. Interpretivism was utilized as the philosophical underpinning of the study. The study adopted the qualitative approach to guide data collection and analysis. The case study design was adopted as the research design of the study whilst the Awutu Prison Camp in Kasoa was utilised as the site for the study. Purposive sampling was used as the sampling method of the study and interview and observation were used to collect data. The interview data was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The results of the study indicated that substandard accommodation, lack of knowledge of Human Rights, inadequate hygiene, insufficient food allocation, inadequate medical care were the major themes concerning the level of compliance with human rights standards. Also, the findings revealed that under-funding from government hinder provision of decent food and medical care, poor infrastructure, lack of necessary supply were the major factors regarding the challenges that contributes to human rights violations within the camp. The study found that there are non-existent reformatory structures to fully equip prisoners with trade skills to ensure reformation and rehabilitation. The study proposed incorporation of effective Human Rights education into the Prison Service at the training school to inculcate in both new and serving officers the standards and guidelines applicable to prisons in Ghana. The study also proposed an increment of the ₵1.80p per prisoner to ensure the provision of sufficient and decent meals were among some of the recommendations proposed. It is hoped that this study will be very useful to Prison Service by updating its training curriculum, determining what measures to take to sharpen the professionalism of its officers and also useful to other people who may write on issues that relate to the topic.