Let’s allow the law enforcement agencies do their work and stop interference- Mrs.Yamfoah Amua-Sekyi

The Director of Public Education at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mrs Yamfoah Amua-Sekyi, has courted public support in enforcing laws against human rights abuses in the country.

According to her, most cases brought before CHRAJ suffered many interferences which often delayed justice and entrenched the culture of impunity in the country.

“If we do not use our laws, they won’t work. If we interfere with the law then turn around to complain, we are not doing ourselves public good. Let’s allow the law enforcement agencies do their work and stop the constant interference.

Often times, people bring complaints to CHRAJ but are unwilling to cooperate in investigations to get to the end of the matter. If we talk, build capacity and make all the efforts and still interfere, we come back to square zero,” she noted.

Mrs Amua-Sekyi was speaking at a close-out ceremony on a three-year UN Women Trust funded project on gender-based violence against women and girls in selected communities in the Greater Accra region.

Implemented by the International Network of Religious Leaders living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+ Ghana) in partnership with the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DoVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, CHRAJ and the Department of Social Welfare, the project benefitted over 1,000 individuals in areas including Chorkor, Nima and Jamestown.

The Director lauded INERELA for the great work done in the last three years in reducing social vices and sexual and gender-based violence in the communities and encouraged community leaders to ensure the work done does not go to ‘waste’.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Jones Blantari, Board Chair of INERELA+ Ghana, said the NGO had made tremendous strides and impacted so many lives in the project-selected communities.

He said, over the implementation period, the project had empowered women and young girls who hitherto were at risk of violence, helped improve access to legal assistance, psychosocial counselling, health care, skills training and built a better network among stakeholders.

“Violence against women and girls is unacceptable in our society and together, we can help minimise it,” he stated.

The National Coordinator, INERELA+ Ghana, Mrs Mercy Acquah-Hayford, said, going forward, the NGO would continue monitoring the progress of the beneficiaries to fully realise the project’s goal.

“We hope that if we are sustained and supported we can train and recruit more interested and vulnerable girls to learn from the beneficiaries to help reduce poverty in the country,” she said.

Captions

A cross section of participants at the close out ceremony

The National Coordinator of INERELA, Mercy Acquah-Hayford granting an interview at the close-out ceremony.