Background

Ghana’s 1992 Constitution protects the full range of human rights, including the right of civil society to participate in decision-making. However, the type of engagement where citizens, particularly the poor and marginalized, come together to engage with government to claim their rights is not common. This is beginning to change and in recent years, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have tended to move away from a welfare approach towards a rights-based approach focusing on empowerment, advocacy and other actions to help realise poor people’s rights.

Objectives/Purpose of RAVI

The Purpose of RAVI is ‘Enhanced citizen engagement in Ghana aiming at the respect, protection and fulfilment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights’.

The following are the expected outputs:

• Strengthened capacity of vulnerable groups to exercise voice and demand their rights (e.g. women, children, disabled, minorities);
  
• Enhanced citizen capacity to realise rights associated with livelihoods (e.g. shelter, food, land, water and labour)
• Citizens’ demand for accessible, affordable, quality social services supported (eg. education, health, and social welfare)
  
• Promotion and protection of civil and political rights supported through the development of innovative strategies and mechanisms (e.g. access to information, participatory governance, redress mechanisms, transparent budgeting)
  
• Enhanced capacity of CSOs to engage with public institutions and articulate/represent the interests of the poor.