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The Central Regional Office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) recorded 674 cases of different forms of human rights abuses in 2017 as against 682 in 2016.

This included 659 Direct Human Rights abuses, 14 Administrative Justice cases, and one Anti corruption case.

In all, a total of 556 were amicably settled by the Commission through negotiations, investigations and medications while 118 cases were still pending as at December 2017.

Mr Tetteh Tuwor, Acting Regional Director of CHRAG who disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast, encouraged Ghanaians to report acts of corruption and other crimes happening in their communities to appropriate institutions and not harbour fears of victimisation and vilification.

He said CHRAJ was ready to offer protection to citizens who reported crimes to them to ensure that they were not victimised.

He pointed out the manifestations and effects of the cancerous act of corruption on society and expressed the need for all to help fight the canker since it affected development.

Mr Tuwor said the fight against corruption, as well as the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms were a shared responsibility that required the support and commitment of all to ensure success.

As part of efforts to reverse the heightened corruption trend in the country, he said the Commission had adopted the National Anti-corruption Campaign Action Plan (NACAP) as the national strategy and blueprint to combat corruption in the country especially over last decade.

The main purpose of NACAP was to mobilise efforts and resources of stakeholders, including the Government, public sector institutions, civil society, private sector, the media, faith-based organisations, traditional authorities and individuals, to prevent and fight corruption through the promotion of high ethics, integrity and vigorous enforcement of applicable laws.

Additionally, it is expected to engender greater public understanding of the functions and activities of CHRAJ to enlist the support of the people in promoting and protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as administrative justice.

Mr Tuwor said through the NACAP, CHRAJ engaged directly with citizens at the community level, schools, groups and institutions on how they could contribute to fighting corruption.

Such engagements, according to him, offered the citizenry the opportunity to learn basic human rights and allowed those who ordinarily would not have the opportunity to access the legal services to also report and pursue their corruption related cases.

“Such beneficiaries are taken through the Whistle blowers’ Act, explaining to them how to lodge complaints under the law to receive attention, their rights, privileges and others” he said.

Mr Tuwor said CHRAJ also embarked on educational campaigns to educate citizens on the National Anti-corruption Action Plan and their roles in curtailing corruption in the country, urging them to be active citizens in the fight against corruption.