The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Africa Office joins the global community to commemorate Human Rights Day 2025, celebrated under the theme “Human Rights: Our Everyday Essentials.” Human Rights Day, observed annually on 10th December, marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948—a landmark document affirming the inalienable rights of every individual.

This year’s theme underscores that human rights are not distant principles but essential safeguards that anchor our daily lives—guaranteeing safety, dignity, equality, and freedom. Fundamental rights such as access to information, justice, education, healthcare, food, clean water, a healthy environment, personal security, and inclusive governance form the foundation on which individuals depend each day. However, these everyday rights are increasingly under threat in Ghana and Africa in general. Food security continues to worsen as climate change, land degradation, and illegal mining (galamsey) destroy arable lands and undermine sustainable agriculture. Livelihood losses particularly among farmers, fishers, women, and rural households have become a serious human rights concern, with pollution and unsafe working conditions pushing vulnerable communities further into poverty. The destruction of forests, wetlands, and farmlands continues to intensify climate risks and jeopardize the rights of present and future generations to a safe and healthy environment.

These realities affirm that human rights are intimately tied to the essentials that sustain life and livelihoods. When rivers are polluted, when fertile lands are destroyed, when communities lose their income sources, when information is withheld, and when justice becomes inaccessible, the fundamental rights of individuals and communities are violated. Protecting everyday essentials is therefore not merely an environmental or development concern—it is a human rights imperative.

Across Africa, similar threats persist as climate-induced food insecurity, water stress, shrinking civic space, weak governance, and conflict undermine rights and livelihoods. From the Sahel to the Horn of Africa, millions face droughts, floods, insecurity, and economic instability. Weak environmental enforcement, corruption, and limited access to justice continue to erode public trust and stall progress toward inclusive development.

To safeguard these everyday human rights and restore confidence in public institutions, CHRI urges governments across Africa to:

· Strengthen environmental protection and invest in climate resilience.

· Enforce laws against illegal mining, pollution, and deforestation, supported by transparent natural resource governance.

· Expand access to justice, particularly for vulnerable and rural communities.

· Guarantee the right to information through proactive disclosure and transparency.

· Integrate human rights into national development planning and budgeting.

· Enhance regional cooperation on climate change, migration, environmental protection, and human rights reporting.

CHRI specifically calls on the Government of Ghana to:

· Expedite the repeal of the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2022 (L.I. 2462) to protect remaining forest reserves and natural resources.

· Implement the recent recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), including establishing an independent, high-level investigation into the illegal mining (galamsey) network. This investigation must expose and hold accountable the political, economic, and criminal actors sustaining the practice, supported by anti-corruption safeguards, transparency, and full public reporting.

As the world marks Human Rights Day 2025, CHRI Africa Office calls on leaders, institutions, and citizens to reaffirm their commitment to the rights that safeguard everyday essentials. Only by upholding these rights can Africa build just, resilient, and inclusive societies where every individual lives in dignity and reaches their full potential.