ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS In April, Germany ratified the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. As a result, from 20 July, individual complaints could be submitted to the Committee on the Covenant. IRRESPONSIBLE ARMS TRANSFERS The government introduced “general licences” for the export of certain military equipment and dual-use goods. These replaced the making of decisions on a caseby-case basis, further reducing transparency and potentially facilitating irresponsible exports. Despite mounting evidence of war crimes by the Israeli army in the occupied Gaza Strip, Germany continued to grant licences for the export of military equipment to Israel. Germany also licensed arms transfers posing a high risk to human rights and international humanitarian law to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. GHANA Republic of Ghana The president declined to sign into law a bill passed in parliament to proscribe accusations of witchcraft. A bill to further criminalize LGBTI people progressed in parliament. A partial abolition of the death penalty was revoked. The rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly continued to be threatened, and authorities used excessive force to disperse protests. The right to health of pregnant women was threatened by lack of access to medical facilities. Environmental activists decried the pollution generated by second-hand clothing imports. BACKGROUND The year was marked by high costs of living and food inflation amid growing national debt. In May, the International Monetary The State of the World’s Human Rights Fund approved a three-year, USD 3 billion programme for Ghana with an immediate disbursement of USD 600 million. The rest was contingent on Ghana following through with commitments to restructure its domestic and external debts, cut spending and make fiscal adjustments, thus raising concerns about potential impacts on economic and social rights. The inflation rate reached 53.6% in January but fell to 26.4% in November. In October, the World Bank’s food security update ranked Ghana among 10 countries with the highest food inflation. In July, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, cautioned Ghana over its non-refoulement obligation after the government repatriated more than 500 Burkinabe people to Burkina Faso. WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS Female genital mutilation (FGM) continued to be practised but there was progress in changing attitudes. In April, 15 former “female circumcisers” in Wa renounced FGM while traditional leaders in the city denounced and committed to help combat the practice. On 3 July, Tamale High Court condemned two women to 12 years in prison for the 2020 manslaughter of a 90-year-old woman accused of witchcraft. On 27 July, the parliament passed a law making it a crime to accuse someone of witchcraft and requiring the dismantling of “witch camps” for accused women banished or fleeing from their villages. In December, the president declined to sign the bill into law, citing procedural issues. On 31 October, the Affirmative Action bill aimed at increasing the participation of women in public office had its first official reading in parliament, having first been introduced in 2016. The bill was still pending at the end of year. LGBTI PEOPLES’ RIGHTS On 7 July, the parliament unanimously approved the 2021 Promotion of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Family Values bill during its second reading, taking it one step further 181