On January 14, 2003, the National Reconciliation Commission began public hearings of petitions alleging human rights violations.
The hearings, provided by the Act which set up the Commission, are part of the investigative process of the Commission.
The National Reconciliation Commission was set up by an Act of Parliament to seek to promote national reconciliation among the people of Ghana by recommending appropriate redress for persons who have suffered abuses and violations of their human rights arising from activities or inactivities of public institutions and persons holding public office from March 6,1957 to January 6, 1993.
For the purposes of attaining this goal, the Commission has been investigating petitions of human rights violations relating to killings, abductions, disappearances, torture, detention, ill-treatment and seizure of property.
This will enable the Commission to establish the causes of, as well as the context and circumstances under which the violations occurred, and identify the persons and institutions responsible for those violations.
At the end of its work, the Commission will, among others, recommend appropriate responses to the specific needs of each victim, suggest measures to prevent and avoid the repetition of such violations, recommend institutional reforms and measures to promote healing and reconciliation, including the setting up of a reparation and rehabilitation fund.
Since the Commission began its work on September 3, 2001, it has received over 4,190 petitions and so far heard a total of 951 petitions - 914 publicly and 39 in-camera.
The stories told by victims have been characterized by unbelievable extremes of sadistic brutality that shows the scope and breadth of human rights violations that have taken place over the years.
Traumatized petitioners have wept and broken down as they relived the gory details of their horrific experiences. It is common knowledge that people in the public gallery at the venue of the hearings and those watching on television have been so touched by the graphic recollection of killing of loved ones, torture and various forms of ill-treatment, that they have wiped a tear or two.
However, the Commission’s counsellors are always on hand to help the victims and their families and friends deal with their pain. What is amazing and reassuring is that most petitioners, after telling their stories and undergoing counseling, have experienced a healing they never expected and have seen the necessity to consign their painful past into oblivion so they can confront the present and deal with the future.
Obviously, this is good for the reconciliation process. But more important, Ghanaians are being shocked, on a daily basis, by the stories at the hearings, to resolve that never again shall they, as a nation, allow this to happen to their fellow citizens. This resolution should galvanize us to work to implement reforms in state institutions that were pre-disposed to human rights violations and develop a culture of respect for human rights in Ghana
It must be stressed, however, that national reconciliation cannot be expected to have been achieved at the end of the work of the Commission. National reconciliation is a process not an event.
Efforts at national reconciliation will continue well after the Commission’s work The work of the Commission is the first step that Ghanaians have taken in this process of nation building.
For true reconciliation to be achieved, certain basic conditions must be met.
First the state must acknowledge the wrongs of victims so that their dignity could be restored. Second, perpetrators must admit responsibility and show remorse.
Third, reparations, both symbolic and concrete, must be provided for the loss suffered by victims. Above all, concerted and sustained efforts must be made to ensure that conditions that made it possible for the violations to occur are removed.
For us in Ghana, the welcome news is that all segments of the population agree on the need for national reconciliation. It is this collective disposition towards national well-being that will continue to energize and, hopefully, hasten the national reconciliation process beyond the life of the Commission.
