Mr. Aning said the report on Ghana highlighted issues that had already been widely criticized by several individuals in the public domain.

“Whatever is in that report is what Ghanaians have spoken about. What is it that makes the state department talking about problems we talk about on a daily basis much more important than we do? This report is just a routine annual raid.”

The report, which was released on April 12, 2022 observed that corruption was still prevalent in Ghana.

It also cited a number of human rights abuses including clamping down on free speech, politically motivated killing, inhumane treatments, arbitrary arrests, and denial of fair trial among others.

In Mr. Aning’s view, a report by Ghana, indicting the U.S for similar actions would have been ignored by the latter.

“Were we to have a foreign policy that is solid and proactive and we also wrote an annual report about police brutalities against African Americans, I can assure you the U.S will not be bothered.”

He believes the report exposes the need “to respect and dignify the Ghanaian voices that speak to bring the rule of law, the respect for human rights, transparency, accountability instead of always denigrating ourselves and placing emphasis on other people’s perception.”