The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has asked government to release immediately the report on the Wuaku Commission that investigated fighting at Yendi in which the Ya Na, Yakubu Andani II and 40 others were killed.
The Commission has also asked government to come out with a White Paper as soon as possible to ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime and all those who breached the law during the disturbances are made to face the full rigours of the law. It said government's swift action on the matter would bring peace and security back to normal in the area, thus returning the people in the area to greater economic activity and development of the region in general. The Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr Justice Francis Emile Short said this at a press conference in Accra in commemoration of Human Rights Day on Tuesday.
He noted that ethnic conflicts, chieftaincy and land disputes remain significant problems, adding that this year saw a disturbing increase in the number of conflicts leading to several outbreaks of violence across the country. Mr Short said the Commission is particularly dismayed at the serious outbreak of violence in Yendi. He said this crisis resulted in needless loss of lives and the destruction of property, and the declaration of a state of emergency in the Dagbon area of the Northern Region. He also expressed the hope that the Attorney-General and Minister of the Interior would bring the police and military officers involved in the killing of five members of the neighbourhood watchdog committee at Taifa in Accra to book.
Mr Short stressed that conflict retards development and progress, saying communities in conflict have no opportunity for participatory governance, social and economic development, which is already minimal for Ghanaians. Commenting on "The State of Human Rights in Ghana" he said there is a general sense of greater freedom and much more conducive environment for the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms, even though much remains to be done to inculcate in the citizenry a culture of respect for human rights.
He mentioned the cessation of arrests, harassment and detention in military barracks of civilians by military personnel, the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law and the sustained efforts towards the enactment of Freedom of Information Bill and Public Interest Disclosure Bill as means of consolidating the nation's democracy.
