CIVICUS and the West African Civil Society Institute have produced a new research brief on the state of civic freedoms in Ghana. This country brief covers civic space developments in Ghana between January 2021 and October 2022. While Ghana has been lauded as a regional champion for its respect of fundamental and democratic freedoms for many years, this has recently been seriously undermined. Major civic space concerns in Ghana include the safety of journalists, the arrest of journalists under ‘false news’ regulations, a draconic draft LGBTQI+ law that criminalises LGBTQI+ advocacy and instances of excessive use of force against protesters. These concerns reflect a growing intolerance of criticism and dissenting views on the part of the authorities and politicians.
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Download the Ghana research brief here.
Ghana is currently rated Narrowed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 40 other countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where the state generally allows individuals and civil society organisations to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of association, but violations of these rights also take place (see the full description of ratings)
