DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE ii. Findings of the CRM 12. The country consultations were dominated by discussions on the need for Ghana to ratify outstanding standards and codes and to domesticate them. State parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights are required to submit state reports to the African Commission pursuant to the Charter every second year. After having avoided this obligation for a number of years, Ghana submitted its second report to the Commission in March 2000. Since then, the country has not been to the Commission. This is a major weakness in the internal systems of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice. These ministries normally are the focal points in dealings with international bodies on the implementation of human rights obligations. iii. Recommendations 13. The Panel recommends that Ghana: ? Adopt a binding time-frame within which Ghana accedes to the following AU conventions: - African Children's Charter, 1990 Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African Union, 2003 AU Convention against Corruption, 2003 AU Non-Aggression and Common Defence Pact, 2005 Protocol on the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights, 1998 Protocol on the African Court of Justice, 2003 Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, 2003 Protocol to the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, 2004 ? Adopt a deliberate plan to clear outstanding arrears and institute a mechanism for automatic compliance with the reporting obligation. Additionally, consider strengthening the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice so that they can fulfil this mandate. ? Develop a plan and programme to incorporate into Ghana's domestic law the ratified covenants and conventions, so as to make them an integral part of the country's own enforceable standards. 17