Accra — In December 2001, the parliament of Ghana passed a law to establish the National Reconciliation Commission. The law, known as the National Reconciliation Commission Act 611, came into force on January 11, 2002.

The goal of the commission is to help reconcile the people of Ghana by finding out the truth about past human rights abuses and helping those who were hurt by the abuses to deal with their pain and to move on with their lives. The commission was also to help those who participated in the abuses to accept their guilt and to obtain forgiveness.

The President in consultation with the council of state on April 24, 2002 appointed members of the commission. The commission was inaugurated on May 6, 2002. The law (Act 611) required the Commission to establish an accurate and complete historical record of human rights violations and abuses inflicted on persons by public institutions and holders of public office or persons who claimed to have acted on behalf of the state during periods of unconstitutional government. The law also required the Commission to recommend to the president certain measures to appease the victims of human rights abuses and to prevent such occurrences in future.

In order to find out the truth about past abuses, the commission took statements from aggrieved members of the public, investigated those statements and conducted hearings into them.

The commission, chaired by Mr. Justice Kwaku Etrew Amua-Sekyi, a retired justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, was made up of distinguished personalities, including Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine, former commander of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL); Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Catholic Bishop of Koforidua; Maulvi Abdul Wahab Bin Adam, Ameer and Missionary-in-charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission; Professor Florence Abena Dolphyne, former Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana; Dr.(Mrs.) Silvia Awo Mansah Boye, former Registrar of the West African Examination Council; Mr. Christian Appiah Agyei, former Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress, Ghana, Professor Henrietta Joy Abena Nyarko Mensa-Bonsu, Associate Professor at the Faculty of law, University of Ghana, Legon and Uborr Dalafu Labal II, Paramount chief of Sangulu in the Northern Region of Ghana.

Hearings at the Commission, which began on January 13, 2003 was successfully brought to a close on Tuesday July 13, 2004.

The commission's work, which was on several occasions characterized by turbulent exchanges and denials of wrong doing, has left many in no doubt, that the final report on proceedings will generate intense debate and arguments among the citizenry. The process, nevertheless can be said to have been successful, to the extent that, it is the first ever attempt in this country to document human right abuses, having lifted what could be described as a lid on the dark side of our political history. It has, if for nothing at all, enabled Ghanaians to acknowledge their past and work to prevent the recurrence of the unpleasant details have emerged.

The commission, in its final report, is expected to recommend to the President of Ghana to respond to the needs of victims of past abuses by providing a form of reparation or restitution and an apology for abuse they suffered. It is expected to help identify institutions which contributed to human rights abuses, and recommend reforms of such institutions by identifying institutional responsibility and making recommendations for corrective measures so as to prevent future recurrence, and make Ghanaians more knowledgeable to recognize and resist any sign of a return to repressive rule. The process, though, has not reconciled all the victims with their villains, it has at least, helped to reconcile Ghanaians with their difficult past, and embolden them to look to the future with hope.

The N.R.C. report which will be submitted to the President John Agyekum Kufour, three months after its completion of work, should be able to describe the nature, causes and ramifications of human rights abuses on the victims. Some of the human rights violations the commission received from the public on 3rd September 2002 came in the form of killings, abductions, disappearances, detentions, torture, ill treatment and seizure of properties.

While a section of the public, has given the commission thumbs up for their good work during these eighteen months of public hearing, others have also expressed the view that the commission was set up purposely to witch-hunt those in opposition, especially the National Democratic Congress (N.D.C). It is hoped that the report to be submitted by the commission will be accepted and reparations made for those victims so as to make Ghana a peaceful and better place to live in.