‘Let’s strengthen laws protecting children’

Daily Graphic (Pg11) Tues., July 20/10

Article: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, provides for a uniform set of rights for children. It is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights that is civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.
In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention because people under 18 years of age often needed special care and protection which adults did not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognised that children also had human rights.
It, therefore, provided member states the opportunity for their governments to institute legislation, policies and structures for setting in motion the mechanisms for realising these rights at the country level.
The convention sets out the rights that must be realised for children to develop their full potential, free from hunger and want, neglect and abuse. It reflects a new vision of the child.
The convention offers a vision of the child as an individual and as a member of a family and community, with rights and responsibilities appropriate to his or her age and stage of development. By recognising children's rights in this way, the convention firmly sets the focus on the child as a whole.
Apart from making provisions for enhancing child survival, participation, and development, the convention makes provisions for the protection of children from harm and exploitation, and to consolidate child protection and improve the welfare of children in the country, Ghana enacted Children’s Act 1998; Act 560).
The law provides an opportunity for tailoring some meaningful services to many children in Ghana in the last ten years. A careful study of national and regional initiatives indicated an awareness of the idea of rights pertaining to children. The general population is also becoming cognisant of the attention paid to the welfare of children from both public and private institutions including local and international NGOs.
Human rights apply to all age groups and children have the same general human rights as adults. But children are particularly vulnerable and so they also have particular rights that recognise their special need for protection.
Other laws that seek to protect children in the country include the Domestic Violence Act and the Criminal Code of Ghana.
In line with the objective of giving children the needed protection that they require, the Greater Accra Regional Multi-sectoral committee on children met in Accra to discuss the issue of child protection and early childhood care in the region.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Regional Co-ordinating Council, the Basic Education Division of the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Department of Social Welfare, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the National Population Council and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC).
Others were some child related non-governmental organisations working in the area of child protection such as BASICS International and representatives from educational centres such as the Autism Centre and the Dzorwulu Special School in Accra.
Hosted by the Greater Accra Department of Children, members deliberated on the need for a co-ordinated effort where society would be involved by ensuring that all vulnerable children or children living under harsh conditions with either their parents or guidance would be identified and taken out of such situations.
According to the Regional Co-ordinator of the Department of Children, Mr Peter Akyea, despite the numerous laws that sought to protect children, a number of children were still used as child labourers some of whom worked as house helps and did not have access to education while others were made to hawk on the street from morning till dusk.
He said children continued to experience numerous abuses and that the time had come for the laws that protected them to be strengthened to ensure their survival, protection, development and participation in all spheres of life.
A Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr Simon S. Agbeehia who chaired the meeting, blamed the issue of the lack of child protection in the country on parents and the economy at large saying that "parents are chasing money instead of protecting their children" and that people seem to prefer material wealth than the welfare of their children.
He said the current economic pressures in the country did not allow the society especially parents and guardians to treasure their children the way they should.
The Programmes Director from the Autism Awareness, Care and training centre, Mr Mawusi Adiku was more concerned that parents and guardians did not take into account the behavioural changes in their children because they were sometimes too busy to notice them.
Some parents he said were also too overly protective of their children with disabilities, a situation which he said did not allow them to seek early or prompt care for such children for swift intervention.
He said such children especially those with autism, which he said was a developmental disorder characterised by communication, behaviour and social disorders, could be managed effectively with some of these children given skills training for their livelihood.
Members of the committee in their various submission called for the integration of children with disabilities into mainstream educational schools so as to help develop them socially and mentally.
They also called on parents and teachers to help build the confidence of such children so that they would not feel inferior to other children, a situation which they said demoralised them for life.
They also called for the education of parents on child protection to ensure that children were given the needed opprtunity to develop their capabilities without hindrances.