Who’s to Blame?

No Easy Answers to Solving Human Rights Abuse 

The year-end Amnesty International Report branded 2014 as a “catastrophic” year for human rights. A “bleak” 2015 was anticipated.  The 424-page document cited the ongoing conflict in Syria, extreme police force in the U.S. and the rise of Islamic groups like Boko Haram and ISIS, as a few of the myriad threats to human rights. But interestingly, Amnesty International placed partial blame for these human rights violations at the feet of world leaders.

“If you take it from a purely idealistic point of view, it is probably true that if governments made more of an effort, they would be able to protect civilians,” said Eugene Mensah, Chonnam University Human Rights Law professor. “But the truth is governments reflect our politics, and the primary motivation of our politicians is not to protect people — it is to line their pockets … The incentives of our political systems do not allow us to vote for the right kinds of people.”

A native of Ghana, Mensah has studied and worked as a law professor in various countries, including the U.S. Originally a commercial lawyer, Mensah began studying human rights law while attending Northwestern University. He was interested in the underlying causes of human rights violations, which he largely attributes to the weakness of a state.

He offers his native country as an example. The state of Ghana, though abounding with human rights laws, is unable to enforce these laws.

“If you go to a police station in Ghana and you say you have a human rights problem, they will say we don’t have a car to arrest the guy,” said Mensah. “Maybe the boss is keeping the car for his private use. Why is he doing that? Because the state doesn’t have the capacity to enforce the rules … When I visit my mother outside the capital, I can drive for 60-70 miles and [the government has no presence there]. The people are just there. In the capital there are state institutions, but in the countryside there is nothing. How do you arrest someone?”

Mensah notes that like Korea, Ghana was under the thumb of a strong military government. A key difference was that Korea’s military regime focused on development, whereas Ghana’s military regime did not. Now, working in a democracy, Ghana’s officials are still “not motivated to deal with the fundamental problems.” Ghanaian citizens often vote along ethnic lines, not for practical reasons.

“Governments are not motivated to do anything because doing the right thing can be tough,” said Mensah. “Reducing government expenditures literally means that you take food from people’s mouths — people who [make money on] government contracts. Until there is a revolution in thinking about why we have government, we are going to continue to have these problems.”

While he feels that NGOs in Africa do substantial work, they will not be the driving force of change on the continent because they only have solutions for pockets of the population.

“NGOs solve a problem here, then it pops up there or five years after they leave,” said Mensah. “You need [a] strong government policy for NGOs to sustain what they are doing. The answer must come from the top and NGOs can support.”

While working for nine years as a law professor in Ghana, Mensah said he often handled cases concerning human rights violations. He shied away from any claim of heroic motivation and admited it was something he sort of stumbled upon.

“Contrary to what most people think, normal human rights cases that you deal with are basically poor people,” said Mensah. “I worked for a university and had a salary, so I didn’t have to charge anyone and got many referrals … Sometimes I would start a case thinking it would be a simple matter of telling the judge that something was unfair. But then you end up having to go to court again and again, and eventually you just get involved.”

He recalls one of his cases in which a 70-year old woman was held in jail for around a year on suspicion that she killed her husband. There was no evidence except for the fact that she reported that her husband was dead. Police largely ignored her declining health.

“She was kept in a cell with men, criminals,” said Mensah. “She was poor and she didn’t understand the system.”

Mensah believes that poor women like his former client are particularly vulnerable.

“All women have a raw deal everywhere, but if you come from an educated rich family, you are better off,” said Mensah.

In Ghana, Mensah observed, educated and wealthy women are able to protect their rights. While they do face some issues with gender expectations, discrimination against them is more subtle. But poor families routinely choose to invest their limited resources in their sons—not their daughters.

“Traditionally women get water and they have to walk at least six miles to and from the water point,” said Mensah. “They are too tired to study when they return. Girls also marry at a young age, again cutting them off from the educational system.”

Mensah adds that human rights violations are also first world problems. He notes that developed countries often look outside of their borders when discussing human rights violations and do not recognize their own failures. He points to police shooting African-American men in the U.S. and hostility toward foreigners in South Korea as examples.

He argues that the most effective weapon against human rights violations is education.

He recalled living in the U.S. and a visit to New Jersey to illustrate his point.

“In Newark, walk around the city center and you feel depressed,” said Mensah. “But there is a town maybe 20-30 minutes away called Westfield. The place is such that you will probably do the right thing. If you live in Newark you are probably going to prison. If you can get a good job and go to Westfield, your life is made.”

Even though getting an education and a good job may seem like overly simplified solutions to a problem that appears overwhelming, Mensah said it is crucial to breaking cyclical poverty and exploitation.

“I always say in my class that human rights law is very limited, so when you educate someone, you solve maybe three-fourths of the human rights problems that a person will face,” said Mensah. “If you want to use the legal system to cure human rights problems, you are facing a losing battle. Education is the best way to fight.”