The Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL)and Third World Network Africa (TWN-Africa)have joined forces to hold paralegal training for some community leaders and activists in salt and sand mining communities in the Greater Accra and Volta regions.
The three-day training aimed at equipping the participants with basic legal knowledge and skills in mining and human rights laws to help identify and address instances of injustice and abuses within the various communities.
Mr Augustine Niber, the Executive Director for CEPIL, said it was necessary to engage and build up focal persons, who would understand the work of human rights paralegals, the Ghanaian judicial system, and alternative dispute resolution in the mining communities.
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He stated that the training included three modules of which the first session was held in August last year, and the others were held in November and December this year.
Mr Niber said refresher courses would be initiated yearly for the activists to keep them updated and ensure their communities were peaceful.
Mr. Niber urged the participants to disseminate and impact others in their communities to ignite citizens about their basic rights.
Mr. Augustine Niber commended the participants for their commitment and active participation in the two previous trainings and assured those who participated in all three models of Certificates of participation and CEPIL-branded Paralegal Trainee T-shirts.
While encouraging the participants to share the knowledge and skills acquired with other community members, Mr. Niber cautioned them against the temptation to assume the role of lawyers since the training workshops do not qualify them.
He lauded the Ford Foundation for supporting the initiative and stressed that their gesture would yield positive results in the country.
Mr Joel Degue, one of the participants, lauded CEPIL for the engagement and appealed that the initiative should be maintained and carried out in every region in the country.
Mr. Degue indicated that the training was an eye-opener and had enhanced his professional expertise.
He pledged his commitment as an environmental activist to document all issues of rights violations and advocacy on mining issues in his district.
Source: Publicagenda.news
