On July 12, 2024, the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled that the Republic of Ghana violated Isaac Mensah’s right to information and mandated the State to provide him with the requested documents.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Edward Amoako Asante, Judge Rapporteur, the Court directed Ghana to release documents related to the investigation into the enforced disappearance of Isaac Mensah’s father and subsequent actions. These include a 2009 UN/ECOWAS Investigation Report, the coroner’s report on repatriated bodies to Ghana, and a report on funds disbursed by The Gambia to affected families, among others.
The Court dismissed other claims by Isaac Mensah and the Registered Trustees of the African Network Against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances (ANEKED) against Ghana regarding the arrest, detention, and disappearance of West African migrants in The Gambia in July 2005.
In suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/47/20 filed on November 18, 2020, the Applicants alleged that Peter Mensah, a Ghanaian, was among migrants detained in The Gambia and allegedly killed or disappeared. They argued that Ghana violated human rights obligations under the African Charter and ICCPR by failing to investigate and provide information on Peter Mensah’s disappearance.
The Court ruled it had jurisdiction over Isaac Mensah’s claim on the right to information but not on allegations of enforced disappearance, effective remedy, and truth, which occurred outside Ghana’s jurisdiction.
Regarding admissibility, the Court found Isaac Mensah’s claim on the right to information admissible but noted he lacked authority to represent other alleged family members. ANEKED’s involvement was also dismissed due to insufficient evidence of mandate.
The Court determined Ghana breached Isaac Mensah’s right to information by withholding the 2009 UN/ECOWAS Investigation Report despite a waiver from The Gambia.
As part of its judgment, the Court ordered Ghana to release the Report and other requested documents to Isaac Mensah within four months. Justices Gberi-Bè Ouattara and Ricardo Claúdio Monteiro Gonçalves also served on the bench for this case.
