UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR)- Ghana CSO Platform
In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 60/251, to establish a Human Rights Council (replacing the Human Rights Commission) with the responsibility of promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. One of the key mandates of the Council is to undertake a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the fulfillment of each State’s human rights obligations and commitments. The UPR is therefore a unique human rights mechanism where each of the 193 United Nations Member States are peer-reviewed and examined on their entire human rights record every five years regardless of their size or political influence, under the same rules and supervision. Ghana is a member of the United Nations has been reviewed four times under the mechanism in 2008, 2012, 2017 and in January 2023.
The POS Foundation serves as the conveyancers for the UN UPR Civil Society Organisations Platform in Ghana bringing together over 70 CSOs across the country to write and submit alternative/shadow reports to the Human Rights Council towards Ghana's review in Geneva over the past cycles.
After Ghana’s 3rd cycle review, the State, through the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, set up the National Human Rights Mechanism for Reporting and Follow-Up Meeting (NMRF). The purpose of the NMRF is to report and follow up on the state of Ghana’s human rights and to document human rights violations as a means to monitor and evaluate Ghana’s human rights situation. In the process leading up to Ghana’s 4th cycle review in January 2023, the NMRF coordinated national consultations through the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice towards the drafting of the State’s report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) and have consulted with Civil Society Organization before submitting state report.
POS Foundation
POS Foundation builds the capacity of CSOs and the Media on UPR process , it's journey and recommendations towards effective monitoring ,collating reports , follow ups on recommendation and subsiquently submitting reports to the Human Right Council for reviews.
UPR Recommendations
Impact
The project has led to significant improvements in Ghana’s human rights framework, including:
1. Strengthened Human Rights Reporting – Improved quality and comprehensiveness of Ghana’s reports submitted to the UN HRC.
2. Enhanced State-CSO Collaboration – Stronger partnerships between government and civil society in promoting and protecting human rights.
3. Greater Gender Inclusion – Increased recognition and response to gender-related issues within the human rights discourse.
4. Effective Implementation of Recommendations – Structured tracking mechanisms ensuring sustained action on accepted recommendations.
Civil Society Engagement
Civil Society Organizations submit joint reports under various thematic areas below:
Timelines & Events
Ghana’s UPR journey has undergone several key milestones:
1st Cycle (May 2008)
Initial review by the UN Human Rights Council.
2nd Cycle (October 2012)
Review process reinforced national accountability.
3rd Cycle (7th November 2017)
Ghana received 241 recommendations; 212 accepted, 29 noted.
March 2018 – Adoption of the UPR report with additional accepted recommendations.
March 2017 – CSOs Pre-UPR Reports Submission Workshop.
September 2017 – ‘Diplomacy Meets Human Rights’ In-Country Pre-Session.
October 2017 – Geneva Pre-Session lobbying efforts.
7th November 2017 – Watch Party for Ghana’s Review.
February–March 2018 – CSOs Strategy Workshop on Implementation of UPR Recommendations.
August 2018 – Multi-Stakeholder National Dialogue on UPR implementation at The Kempinski Hotel, Accra.
Mid-Term Reporting Workshops – Ensuring continuous progress on human rights commitments.
