Third and Fourth Weeks at CHRAJ

I must say that the work load these two weeks have been quit heavy, however, I am not complaining I am always welcoming new work and experiences, I do not wish to get to any point in this experience where I am scrambling for work to do, so I am enjoying the recent work load.

I am yet to visit the Attorney Generals Office, however, I was able to draft an introduction letter which was signed by Ms. Bossman. I am hoping to be at the Attorney Generals Office during the week of June 19^th to follow up on the signing and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture and gather as much information as possible regarding the process.

On June 7^th and 8^th I was able to sit in at the Richard Anane hearing. This is an ongoing panel hearing involving allegations of corruption, abuse of office and conflict of interest against Dr. Richard Anane, Minister for Road Transport. Dr. Anane was unable to attend the first day of the hearing he was able to make it the second day and was questioned along with two of his co-workers by CHRAJ, investigations continue and final decisions on the case will be made in July.

I have also been following up on Ghana’s reporting procedures to certain UN documents, as a Human Rights agency CHRAJ role is important in not only getting the government to sign and ratify documents, but to fulfil its reporting obligations. I have also been working on an internal news bulletin which is a forum where all CHRAJ staff can exchange information about activities at the Commission, the bulletin is complete is ready to be distributed to all regional offices.

Acting Commissioner Ms. Bossman will be travelling out of the country and has assigned to me a research project on Prostitution. There have been recent issues in Ghana concerning the ill-treatment of such persons by the police and other public officials, Ghana’s prostitutions laws are unclear, I am to follow up on prostitution laws in some key countries and report back to Ms. Bossman with my findings.

I also had the opportunity to attend a training session for the CHRAJ Anti-Corruption Department. This training is designed to increase knowledge on corruption and how it manifests and also to enhance and strengthen the capacity of the department in investigating such allegations. This two day retreat started on Thursday June 15^th and ended on Friday June 16.

Second Week at CHRAJ

My second week at CHRAJ was busy yet rewarding. On 29^th May, 2006, Mr. Jean Baptiste Niyizunigero, the Africa Program Officer for the Association for the Prevention of Torture and Mr. Philippe Tremblay Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture Campaign Co-ordinator, arrived for a meeting at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) main Office Accra. A meeting I was very surprised to be allowed to sit in. The purpose of their visit was to promote Ghana’s ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which will enter into force on 22 June 2006.

My participation involved observing the meeting and taking notes which was to be used in a later report. The report, which I completed the same day was handed over to Mr. Lartey my assistant supervisor for proof reading and then later to Ms. Bossman, my supervisor.

During the week I was introduced formally to the work of the Legal Registry and research departments. I have been able to read over some of the CHRAJ cases and final decisions. This is in preparation for my own experience with live cases.

On Wednesday, May 31^st, Mr. Tremblay and Mr. Niyizunigero arrived again at CHRAJ for a panel discussion with local and international NGO’s, Ghanaian State and Law Enforcement officials. According to Ms. Anna Bossman Acting Commissioner of CHRAJ, for the implementation of the Optional Protocol to work effectively, NGO’s Law Enforcement and Government officials need to work together to ensure that Ghana’s commitment to preventing torture is carried out. The meeting ended on an encouraging note with all parties present vowing to ensure that the Optional Protocol if ratified by Ghana would be successfully implemented.

I was have been assigned to work on a research project on Children’s Rights with an

emphasize on Education and Healthcare. I would be spending majority of my time next week hopefully working on this project.