Tema-Ghana, Sept. 8, CDA Consult – The Ghana News Agency-Tema Regional Office has received praise from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for its assistance in educating the public on topics relating to human rights and administrative justice.
Mr. John Ato Breboh, a Senior Principal Investigator of CHRAJ, gave the commendation in an interaction with the Ghana News Agency as part of the Commission’s 30th anniversary celebration which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema.
The celebration is on the general theme: “CHRAJ at 30: Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Public Service Delivery.”
The sub-theme for the Tema Sub-Regional Office is “Presentation on 30 Years of CHRAJ in Tema: Success, Challenges, and the Way Forward.”
According to Mr. Breboh, “Our partnership with the GNA-Tema Regional Office has produced a lot of dividends, as the stories went viral and we received calls from other media outlets wanting us to appear on their platforms.
We have been able to direct a number of people to file complaints at our offices in other districts and regions as a result of this.
He claimed that throughout the previous two years, the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office has established a reliable forum for CHRAJ employees to talk about topics such as corruption, human rights, and other matters vital to the growth of the country.
The Commission also praised Plan ‘B’ FM and Obonu FM for giving them a platform to educate the public about our operations.
Mr. Breboh stated that the public’s education on human rights concerns and empowerment to report anti-corruption issues came from the media, which is why the Commission was determined to deepen its connection with the media in carrying out its mandate.
According to him, the CHRAJ Act, 1993 (Act 456), which was passed under Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, formed the organisation with three main responsibilities: promoting human rights, administering justice, and combating corruption.
Regarding the activities of the Commission, he noted that in addition to its three core mandates, it also has mandates for investigations, legal services, research, and public education in the fulfilment of its programmes.
He added that the Human Rights Article and the 1992 Constitution also mandate CHRAJ to protect universal human rights and freedoms relating to civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights and other International Human Rights instruments that Ghana has ratified.
He said these functions were carried out through protection and enforcement as an Ombudsman and promotion and prevention, explaining that in protecting and enforcing fundamental human rights, CHRAJ investigates complaints of human rights violations by persons and institutions, both private and public.
He added that the Commission resolves complaints through various methods such as mediation, negotiation, and formal hearings and by instituting actions and proceedings in court, stating that it also carries out special investigations into human rights abuses that are systemic, cultural, or in other areas of public interest.
In order to prevent human rights abuses, the Commission monitors and assesses the observance of human rights situations, particularly those of vulnerable persons in Ghana.
These monitoring visits, he noted, ensured that his outfit could detect early warning signs of human rights abuses and prevent violations from taking place.
He said that under administrative justice, the Commission was mandated to protect and promote administrative justice to ensure that the government and public officials were accountable and transparent.
This, he added, was contained in Articles 218(a) and (b) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 70(a) and (b) of Act 456.
They also investigate allegations that a Public Officer has contravened or has not complied with a provision of Chapter 24 of the 1992 Constitution, which touches on the Code of Conduct of Public Officers.
He added that the Commission also has the mandate to investigate all instances of alleged or suspected corruption and the misappropriation of public funds by officials and to take appropriate steps, including reports to the Attorney-General and Auditor General resulting from such an investigation.
