Re-arrest child prostitutes- Appiah

Pg. 58. Monday, Jan. 28/08

Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho & Naa Lartiokor Lartey

THE Executive Director of Children's Right International (CRI), Mr Bright Appiah, has said that Government must make efforts to re-arrest the 45 child prostitutes who escaped under questionable circumstances when they were taken for rehabilitation and re-integration at the Department of Social Welfare women's training centre at Madina in Accra.
He said various institutions were playing the blame game at the expense of the children's interest, which he stressed did not show any seriousness on the part of the government.
At a press conference in Accra, he said Article 39 of the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) stated that "state parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of child victim of any form of neglect, exploitation or abuse".
Mr Appiah said any attempt by any person to "divert attention, blame, release information and expose children amount to violation of children's right within our legal framework".
He questioned why journalists should risk their lives and the police and other state institutions use the taxpayer’s money on such operation only for the key culprits to be left off the hook.
Mr Appiah added that the CRI was interested in the reasons why the “child sex workers” were released and denied the right to maintenance, rehabilitation and re-integration.
In his view, there should be prosecution of the case as a test case to the 1998 Children’s Act 560 for proper steps to be taken for the children's welfare.
He said CRI was a child-centred organisation interested in promoting the utmost interest of children in all matters concerning the child.
Two journalists — Anas Aremeyaw Anas and Halifax Ansah-Addo — whose investigations led to the police raid last week of “Soldier Bar”, a brothel at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, where the sex workers were arrested, also expressed their disappointment at the turn of events.
They expressed dissatisfaction at the way the Department of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) handled the “child sex workers” who were sent to the Madina Social Welfare Training Centre for rehabilitation.
The over 150 alleged prostitutes arrested, 45 of whom were children, were later said to have escaped with only 15 remaining under the care of the centre.
They said the motive behind the raid, which involved some officials from the Ghana Police Service (GPS), was to get evidence that children as young as 11 years were indeed into prostitution in the country.
Mr Ansah-Addo, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said they embarked on that assignment so that the children involved could be rehabilitated and also to ensure that perpetrators or patrons of the services of the “child sex workers” were prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
He, however, said the “supposed escape” of the children from the centre had rendered their work fruitless, since non of their motives were realised.