The role of the commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice in the promotion of good governance in Ghana

Abstract

To ensure its democratic governance, Ghana has established the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in particular to promote and protect human rights and freedoms and administrative justice. There is not enough comprehensive literature from studies on the effect of a national human rights institution like the CHRAJ on the development of a culture of human rights and its impact on promotion of good governance. Non-interventional and descriptive study design was employed. The study used both primary and secondary data. Specifically, survey was conducted for the respondents. The respondents comprise persons who had filed complaints in the offices of the CHRAJ in Accra and Cape Coast and persons who had not directly used the services of the CHRAJ. Simple random sampling method was adopted in selecting 80 respondents. The primary data was analysed using SPSS whilst content analysis was employed in analysing the secondary data. The study found that national establishments like the CHRAJ are necessary for attaining good governance in spite of the existence of other governance institutions like the judiciary and commissions for protection of the media and the electoral process, among others. It is recommended that the CHRAJ should be adequately resourced by the State. The CHRAJ should enhance public awareness of requirements for its proper functioning as valuable information for policy makers as well as civil society to guarantee its credibility for promoting good governance.