The Ghana Association of Alternative Dispute Resolution Practitioners (GNAAP) has urged government to make substantial investment in court infrastructure, to provide conference room facilities and offices for mediation sessions.
According to the association, this would help meet the professional requirement of confidentiality in conflict management.
A statement signed and issued by the President of GNAAP, Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, to mark the ADR week, copied The Ghanaian Times, over the weekend, noted that "confidentiality is an important ethical requirement in conflict management, and it smacks of unprofessionalism when mediators are compelled to hold mediation sessions in places which do not create the right atmosphere for confidentiality to reflect the dignity and importance of ADR practice".
It also urged government to increase the allowances of ADR professionals, volunteering to undertake court- connected ADR practice to promote peace building in the country. "We commend the government of Ghana and the Judicial Service of Ghana for instituting the ADR Week, which is devoted to raising national awareness on the importance of ADR by educating the public to know and use the Court-Connected ADR mechanisms, to resolve conflicts through consent agreements between parties in conflict who had resorted to court litigation," the statement said.
