A/HRC/25/60/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez, conducted a visit to Ghana from 8 to 14 November 2013, at the invitation of the Government. 2. The Special Rapporteur met representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney–General, the chief psychiatrist of the Ministry of Health, members of the Ghana Police and Prisons Services, the Military Legal Directorate and the judiciary, and the Commissioner of the national human rights institution of Ghana, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice. He also met representatives of United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). 3. The Special Rapporteur thanks the National Intelligence Agency for facilitating his visit and expresses his appreciation to the Government for providing him with access to all detention facilities in accordance with the terms of reference for fact-finding missions by special rapporteurs (E/CN.4/1998/45, annex, appendix V). 4. Ghana has already welcomed a number of visits by United Nations human rights experts. A meaningful dialogue with the Government has been initiated as a result of the visit of the Special Rapporteur and he looks forward to further collaboration. Ghana is at a critical stage in its development,1 not only economically but also in advancing fundamental human rights for its citizens. That is an opportunity for Ghana to strengthen its role as a regional leader and advance down a path that prioritizes the human rights and dignity of one of the most marginalized sectors of society, those deprived of their liberty. 5. The Special Rapporteur shared his preliminary findings with the Government on 14 November 2013 at the conclusion of his visit and an advance version of the present report on 7 February 2014. On 28 February 2014 the Government provided comments, which were taken into consideration before the report was finalized. II. Legal framework A. International level 6. Ghana has ratified 8 of the 10 core international human rights treaties, most recently the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in August 2012. Ghana has not yet ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance or the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 7. The State has also ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and is a party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. B. Regional level 8. In 2011, Ghana made the declaration under article 34 (6) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, accepting the competence of the Court to receive and 1 International Monetary Fund, Country report No. 13/187, June 2013. 3