News
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.
News
Ghana-Colombia strengthens ties through diplomatic engagement
In an important diplomatic engagement, the Colombian Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Daniel Garces Carabali paid a courtesy call on the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, at his office in Accra to discuss some key areas of collaboration.
The meeting focused on pressing issues, including security, decongestion of Ghana’s prisons, prison reform programmes, training programmes, improving the welfare of prisoners and enhancing disaster management in the country.
The courtesy call underscores the growing bilateral ties between Ghana and Colombia, building on previous engagements, such as the visit of the Colombian Vice President to Ghana in 2023.
The meeting demonstrates the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation and addressing shared challenges.
News
Ghana to host African Catholic Journalists from August 10
The Union Catholique Africaine de la Presse (UCAP), also known as the African Catholic Union of the Press, in collaboration with the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners-Ghana (CAMP-G), is set to host its prestigious Triennial Congress from August 10 to 17 August, 2025.
The programme would be held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Legon, Accra, Ghana.
This landmark event, the most significant gathering of Catholic journalists in Africa, will bring together media professionals, researchers, and experts in digital technology from across the continent and beyond.
The theme for the Congress is: “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Congress Highlights
The UCAP Congress 2025 will feature discussions and deliberations on critical issues arising from or related to integral human development, particularly within the framework of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Some of the key sub-themes to be addressed include:Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Values, Deploying AI in Eco-friendly Business Start-ups in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, Technology and the Reprogramming of Social Reality, Distortion of Reality in Social and Digital Media, Ecological Education and Action Against Unsustainable Exploitation of Natural Resources, and Media and the Promotion of the Recommendations of the Synod on Synodality in Africa.
Participants will include media professionals from both ecclesiastical and lay organisations, media researchers and academics, representatives from the Vatican, government agencies, NGOs, civil society, and the digital technology sector.
Objectives of the Congress
The primary goal of this Congress is to strengthen the capacities of media professionals and educate the public on the necessity of preserving human values amid rapid technological progress. Specific objectives include; Training 100 media practitioners in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, with a focus on balancing innovation and human values.
This will include promoting ethics and bioethics in technical research and technological innovations through media.
Advocating for human values such as respect for life, human dignity, charity, solidarity, and human rights and assessing the impact of technological progress to better understand the challenges, risks, and opportunities presented by AI will be part of the objectives.
UCAP is a continental organisation dedicated to promoting communication within the Catholic Church and its partners in Africa. With a mission to foster spiritual growth, collaboration, and responsible journalism, UCAP works to spread the Gospel, uphold human values, and support developmental initiatives across Africa and beyond.
UCAP is an independent, autonomous, non-political, and non-profit organisation comprising African Catholic journalists, communicators, academics, researchers, and institutions in various media fields.
