AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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lence, and some ethnic groups complain of discrimination. Child labor is a problem
in the informal sector, and forced child labor and trafficking in women and children
also are problems. Vigilante justice also is a problem.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing.—Security forces committed a number
of extrajudicial killings. The number of deaths reportedly caused by members of the
security services decreased from nine in 1999 to five during the year; the continued
use of rubber bullets and water cannons gave the police the ability to manage crowd
control situations without killings or serious injuries. In recent years, the police
service in particular has come under severe criticism following incidents of police
brutality, corruption, and negligence. Public confidence in the police remains low
but was improving over the previous year; however, mobs attacked several police
stations due to perceived police inaction, a delay in prosecuting suspects, rumors of
collaboration with criminals, and the desire to deal with suspects through instant
justice. In 1999 the presidential Archer Commission issued a white paper critiquing
police operations and providing specific directives as to how to address police manpower,
training, and logistical needs. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) publicly
acknowledged these problems and attempted to address them through training in
human rights and riot control.
On January 2, a policeman shot a 23-year-old man who was sitting with friends
in a cemetery in Madina (Greater Accra Region). Police investigations into the killing
were ongoing at year’s end.
On April 20, police killed a miner during a conflict between 120 military and police
personnel and over 100 men attempting to steal ore from a gold mine in Bibiani,
a Western Region town. As a result of the shooting, the illegal miners rioted, burning
and stealing over $1.6 million (8 billion cedis) worth of property. A joint police
and military team arrested 94 suspects for involvement in the riot. Forty-eight were
remanded to prison custody pending trial.
On July 8, police killed a young man who had a history of mental illness in
Akropong in the Eastern Region. The man reportedly resisted arrest and was beaten
by police, necessitating a hospital trip for treatment. The police reportedly approached
him again at the hospital and shot him. Police statements alleged that the
man had become violent during the scuffle at the hospital, and that the policeman’s
gun fired accidentally, killing the man.
On August 12, one person was killed and another injured during a dispute between
off-duty junior military officers and the bartender at an Accra nightclub.
President Rawlings, the Minister of Defense, and the acting army commander attended
the person’s funeral. Rawlings assured those at the funeral that the military
would cooperate in the police investigation. Five officers were accused of involvement
in the incident and remained in detention at year’s end pending the results
of the investigation, which was transferred from the police to the military. A sixth
officer present at the nightclub that evening, a member of the 64th Infantry Regiment,
was identified as the person who fired his weapon. He reportedly committed
suicide within 2 weeks of the incident.
On November 26, police shot and killed an alleged fuel smuggler in the Afedido
in the Volta Region. The police were in pursuit of a reported fuel smuggling group,
which ignored police calls to halt. The alleged smuggler died of gunshot wounds to
the back and stomach. Police investigations were ongoing at year’s end.
A driver who on October 29 allegedly caused an accident involving the President
and his wife and in which 4 of Rawlings’’ bodyguards were killed, died of unexplained
causes on December 8 while hospitalized. On December 5, the suspect had
appeared before the Accra Circuit Tribunal charged with 2 counts of manslaughter
and negligently causing harm. The chairman of the tribunal ordered the police to
take the suspect to the Police Hospital because he appeared ill, which they did on
December 6. The Bar Association condemned the circumstances of the driver’s arrest
and called for the autopsy report to be released to the public. The report had not
been released by year’s end.
Many persons died in prisons due to extremely harsh conditions and lack of medical
treatment (see Section 1.c.)
A former chief and more than 60 residents of a town who were arrested in connection
with the January 1999 case in which police shot and killed a farmer during
a riot at Juaso in the Ashanti Region, were released on bail. The case was still
under investigation at year’s end.
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