Ghana - Amnesty International

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64GHANA: END IMPUNITY THROUGH UNIVERSAL JURISDICTIONNo Safe Haven Series No. 10Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions make clear that allstates must ensure that all persons found in territory subject to their jurisdiction who are suspectedof such crimes are either prosecuted in their own courts or are extradited to face trial elsewhere. 184Extrajudicial executions are not expressly defined as crimes in Ghanaian law. However, these killingscould be prosecuted as murder under Section 46 of the Criminal Code, 185 or, if committed during aninternational armed conflict, as a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions. The courts of Ghanacannot exercise universal jurisdiction over the ordinary crime of murder.4.3.6. ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCESGhana signed on 6 February 2007, but has not yet ratified, the 2006 International Convention forthe Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Disappearance Convention). 186 Thistreaty requires states parties to define enforced disappearance as a crime under national law (arts.3, 4 and 6), 187 to establish jurisdiction over persons suspected of enforced disappearance who arepresent in their territories if they are not extradited (art. 9 (2)), to take measures to ensure presencefor prosecution or extradition (art. 10 (1) and (2)) and to submit the case to the competentauthorities if they are not extradited (art. 11 (1)).In addition, Article 7 (1) (i) of the Rome Statute lists enforced disappearance of persons as a crimeagainst humanity, while Article 7 (2) (i) defines enforced disappearances as“the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by, or with the authorization, support oracquiescence of, a State or a political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge thatdeprivation of freedom or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of those persons, withimplement legislation - Ch. Eleven (Extrajudicial executions), Index: 53/014/2001, September 2001(http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/IOR53/014/2001/en).184Principle 18 of the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary andSummary Executions declares:“Governments shall ensure that persons identified by the investigation as having participated in extralegal,arbitrary or summary executions in any territory under their jurisdiction are brought to justice.Governments shall either bring such persons to justice or cooperate to extradite any such persons to othercountries wishing to exercise jurisdiction. This principle shall apply irrespective of who and where theperpetrators or the victims are, their nationalities or where the offence was committed.”185See Criminal Code, sects. 46 - 47.186International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, U.N. G.A. Res.61/177, 20 Dec. 2006 (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/disappearance-convention.htm).187The Convention has defined enforced disappearance in Article 2 as“the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or bypersons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed bya refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of thedisappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law”.Amnesty International November 2012 Index: AFR 28/004/2012
GHANA: END IMPUNITY THROUGH UNIVERSAL JURISDICTIONNo Safe Haven Series No. 1065the intention of removing them from the protection of the law for a prolonged period of time.”Ghana has not defined enforced disappearance as a crime under national law. 188 However, some actsof this complex crime can be prosecuted under the Criminal Code as an ordinary crime, such askidnapping. 189 Ghana has not provided its courts with universal jurisdiction over enforceddisappearances or over those ordinary crimes.4.3.7. AGGRESSIONThe crime under international law of planning, preparing, initiating or waging aggressive war hasbeen recognized as a crime under international law since it was incorporated in the NuremburgCharter in 1945. 190 It is expressly listed as a crime in Article 5 of the Rome Statute over which theInternational Criminal Court shall exercise jurisdiction once a provision is adopted defining the crimeand setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to thiscrime. 191 The Review Conference on the Rome Statute adopted an amendment to the Rome Statutedefining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court will exercise its jurisdictionover the crime. 192Ghana has not defined the planning, preparation, initiation or waging of an aggressive war as a crimeunder national law nor has it provided its courts with universal jurisdiction over this crime.188For the scope of Ghana’s obligation to implement this treaty when it is ratified, see Amnesty International, Noimpunity for enforced disappearances: Checklist for effective implementation of the International Convention forthe Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, Index: IOR 51/006/2011, November 2012(http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/IOR51/006/2011/en).189See Criminal Code, sects. 89 - 90.190Charter of the International Military Tribunal, annexed to the London Agreement (Nuremberg Charter), 8 Aug.1945, art. 6 (a) (“CRIMES AGAINST PEACE: namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war ofaggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a commonplan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing[.]”191Rome Statute, art. 5 (2).192RC/Res.6 (http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/Resolutions/RC-Res.6-ENG.pdf).Index: AFR 28/004/2012 Amnesty International November 2012
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CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION ...........
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5.4.2. Protection..................
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7.2.1.5. Recognition and enforcemen
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WHEtHER IN A HIgH-PRoFILECoNFLICt o
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Ghana - Amnesty International

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