This is followed by a discussion of the principles underpinning recent anti-poverty policy. In the late 1980s, after nearly one decade of quasi-military rule, strong internal and external pressures on the government led to the promulgation of a liberal constitution in 1992, overwhelmingly approved by a 92 per cent majority through a national referendum. In light of the gross human rights violations that characterized various past military regimes, one key feature of the 1992 Constitution is its strong emphasis on human rights. Ghana's 1992 Constitution).