[child-rights] CRC 41th session: Committee examines report of Ghana

UNITED NATIONS Press release

COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXAMINES
REPORT OF GHANA

Committee on the 
Rights of the Child 
13 January 2006
(Chamber A)

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the second
periodic report of Ghana on how that country is implementing the
provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

In opening remarks to the Committee, Alima Mahama, Minister for Women
and Children's Affairs of Ghana, said the Government of Ghana was
determined to do everything possible to improve the general
well-being and development of Ghanaian children. As a developing
country with a huge youthful population, it was aware that the future
of the country depended on how the early years of children were
shaped. The Constitution of Ghana emphasised the important role
children had in the development agenda of the country. In principle,
almost all the minimum standards necessary for child well-being
espoused in the Convention were found in the Constitution. While
Ghana acknowledged that challenges, such as inadequate resources,
both human and material, had impeded the achievement of some of the
goals of the Convention, significant progress had been made in
various areas of child development in the country. 

In remarks made during the discussion, Committee Expert Awa N'Deye
Ouedraogo, who served as Rapporteur for the report of Ghana, said the
efforts made to harmonise national legislation with the Convention
were appreciated, but it appeared that similar efforts had not been
made for the application of the Convention, which should have been
circulated. The report was self-critical and analytical. The
difficulties in applying the Convention were mentioned, but the
solutions to these were not systematically listed. Other questions
posed by the Rapporteur included when would the drafting of the
National Action Plan for Children be finalised; what was the make-up
of the National Committee for Children; and whether an independent
mechanism would be set up to monitor implementation. 

Other Committee Experts raised questions related to, among other
things, inter-temporal trends in poverty growth rates; financing
issues as it appeared a majority of the budget went to personnel
costs and how this could be changed in particular with regards to
health costs; how the Millennium Development Goals would be achieved;
the reasons for the high illiteracy rate among women and whether this
was due to discrimination against women with regards to school
enrolment and attendance; whether there was a special programme to
attract girls to schools; whether efforts were being successful in
increasing and maintaining the exclusive breast-feeding policy; what
was being done to reduce teenage pregnancies; and the worst forms of
child labour and whether there was any form of agricultural activity
in this context. 

In preliminary remarks, Ms. Ouedraogo said considerable efforts made
by the Government had been noted, despite the various challenges it
faced. The political will and determination seen during the meeting
were encouraging. A lot had been done, but many areas still required
attention, and some measures should be strengthened to have a better
impact, in particular with regards to the poverty reduction strategy,
which should incorporate certain priority aspects.

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding
observations and recommendations on the report of Ghana towards the
end of its three-week session which will conclude on 27 January. 

The delegation of Ghana consisted of representatives of the Permanent
Mission of Ghana to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Ministry
of Women and Children's Affairs, the Department of Social Welfare,
the School of Health, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's
Department, the Ministry of Education and Sports, and the Ghana
National Commission on Children. 

As one of the 192 States parties to the Convention, Ghana is obliged
to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply
with the provisions of the treaty. The delegation was on hand
throughout the day to present the report and to answer questions
raised by Committee Experts. 

When Chamber A of the Committee reconvenes in public on Monday, 16
January at 10 a.m., it will consider the initial reports of Andorra
on the two Optional Protocols of the Convention on children and armed
conflict, and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography (CRC/C/OPAC/AND/1 and CRC/C/OPSA/AND/1).


*Report of Ghana*

The second periodic report of Ghana (CRC/C/65/Add.34) says that Ghana
demonstrated its commitment to children by ratifying the Convention
on the Rights of the Child on 5 February 1990. The Government and
people of Ghana have since made great efforts to ensure that domestic
laws and policies are consistent with the Convention. While Ghana
acknowledges that there is still much room for improvement,
significant progress has been made in spite of economic and cultural
constraints. The atmosphere engendered by Ghana's commitment to
democratic government resulted in entrenched protection of children's
rights in the country's 1992 Constitution and also facilitated the
translation of the country's profound sense of family values into
Statute Law. By implementing the Convention and other human rights
instruments through domestic legislation, Ghana hopes to build a
unified and all-inclusive society that embraces children and enables
them to grow and develop to their fullest potential.

Violations of child rights still occur in Ghana even though
significant progress has been made to minimise them. In acknowledging
this, the Government is addressing issues of child rights abuses
through formulation and implementation of child friendly policies,
infrastructural development, poverty reduction programmes, good
governance and increased child participation. Concerns raised in the
first report have been addressed in this report. These include
completion and adoption of comprehensive laws for the protection of
children; strengthening of co-ordination between various governmental
bodies and mechanisms involved in children's rights; development of a
system of child-related data collection and management; incorporation
of the Convention into curricula; and training programmes of
professional bodies whose activities affect the development of
children among others.

The concept of child rights is gradually gaining grounds in the
country. Much has been done to instil the spirit of the Convention in
Ghana's legal system; the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, Children's
Act, Child Rights Regulations and Juvenile Justice Act all make
provisions to ensure conformity of domestic laws to the Convention.
The General Principles of the Convention have also influenced many
policies passed to ensure the welfare of children; the continuous
advocacy on the laws and policy will change the populace attitude
towards children. With the entrenchment of democratic principles in
the country since 1993, the civil rights and freedoms of all
including children are being respected. The family, being the primary
unit for the care of children, is however under a lot of stress from
urbanization and economic hardships. These challenges have also
weakened the ties of the extended family, such that some parents are
finding it difficult to meet their responsibilities. The policies and
programmes being implemented will ensure that such children are
protected from anything that will disrupt their development.


*Presentation of Report*

*Alima Mahama*, Minister for Women and Children's Affairs of Ghana,
said since Ghana had ratified the Convention, the concept for child
development had changed, and the Government and the people of Ghana
had demonstrated their commitment to the tenets of the Convention by
ensuring that domestic laws and policies were consistent with it.
While Ghana acknowledged that challenges, such as inadequate
resources, both human and material, had impeded the achievement of
some of the goals of the Convention, significant progress had been
made in various areas of child development in the country. The
Government had continued to vigorously pursue institutional reforms
to improve the administration of issues affecting women and children.
The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs had also adopted
measures to address issues concerning women and children. 

Since 1997, the issues raised in the concluding observations of the
Committee had been addressed through several mitigating initiatives,
Ms. Mahama said. New institutions to support child services had been
established, new legislation, including a Children's Act, which was
the culmination of all child-related laws, and the amendment of the
country's Criminal Codes had been enacted to protect the rights of
the child in the country. Ghana had passed an act on human
trafficking, and had entered into bilateral and multilateral
agreements of cooperation with neighbouring countries to deal with
cross-border trafficking in persons. Several policies, including on
health, education, social protection, HIV/AIDS and its effect on
children had been developed, focusing on child welfare and
protection. 

The Government of Ghana was determined to do everything possible to
improve the general well-being and development of Ghanaian children.
As a developing country with a huge youthful population, it was aware
that the future of the country depended on how the early years of
children were shaped. The Constitution of Ghana emphasised the
important role children had in the development agenda of the country.
In principle, almost all the minimum standards necessary for child
well-being espoused in the Convention were found in the Constitution.
Ghana's achievement would not have been possible without the
political commitment, and support from all stakeholders, including
civil society organizations and the development partners of Ghana. 


*Questions by Experts*

AWA N'DEYE OUEDRAOGO, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for
the report of Ghana, said the Committee was very satisfied with the
multi-sectoral nature of the delegation and with the high level of
representation, which augured well for today's discussions. The
report was rather late, as had been the initial report. The third
periodic report had not yet been received. The report was
self-critical and analytical. The difficulties in applying the
Convention were mentioned, but the solutions to these were not
systematically listed, and there was not much information on plans
for the future. The Committee welcomed the efforts of Ghana to take
up and implement the previous recommendations, but noted that some
had been neglected. The efforts made to harmonise national
legislation with the Convention were appreciated, but it appeared
that similar efforts had not been made for the application of the
Convention, which should have been circulated. 

Trafficking in children was unfortunately widespread in Ghana. There
was concern about striking a balance between customary law and
written law, in particular in matters pertaining to the rights of the
child, and there was a need for more information on how this balance
was struck, Ms. Ouedraogo said. What measures were taken to ensure
that the rights of the child were protected, she asked, and how were
customary practices that had a negative impact on children
eliminated. Other questions posed by the Rapporteur included when
would the drafting of the National Action Plan for Children be
finalised; what was the make-up of the National Committee for
Children; whether an independent mechanism would be set up to monitor
implementation; and how Ghana was planning to implement an effective
permanent system for the registration of births and how it ensured
the registration of the large number of children that had not been
registered at birth. 

Other Experts raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other
things, issues related to the Multi-Sectoral Committee on Child
Protection; inter-temporal trends in poverty growth rates; financing
issues as it appeared a majority of the budget went on personnel
costs and how this could be changed, in particular with regards to
health costs; how the Millennium Development Goals would be achieved;
what municipalities would do to follow-up on birth and death
registration; the reasons for the high illiteracy rate among women
and whether this was due to discrimination against women with regards
to school enrolment and attendance; issues related to the budget for
education; whether there were studies about application of the
Convention in practice; when was the last public campaign promoting
the rights of the child in the context of the Convention; whether
children's rights were included in the training of professionals; and
issues related to the portrayal of the rights of the child in the
media. 


*Response by Delegation*

*Alima Mahama*, Minister for Women and Children's Affairs of Ghana,
responding to the questions and comments, said there was some debate
about the National Programme for Action, but it was felt that it was
important to mainstream the rights of the child through the main
national document for planning, the Ghana Programme for Reduction of
Poverty. In the developed countries, decentralisation started as a
response to current practice, but Ghana had had to come up with
legislation to ensure that it was put into practice. There was
improved capacity in planning in Ghana at a local level, and it was
the Government's responsibility to ensure that children's rights were
mainstreamed in the plans at that level, namely through the district
assemblies. Committee Members intervened, recommending both a
National Plan of Action and that Ghana mainstream the rights of the
child through all National Plans, programmes and projects. 

The right to privacy had been raised, the delegation said, and the
human trafficking act contained specific provisions to ensure that
the identity of a trafficked person was not revealed, and there was a
similar provision in the Juvenile Justice Act, referring to the best
interests of the juvenile. There was also a section in the Criminal
Justice Act referring to torture and cruel and inhuman or degrading
practices, which protected children from unreasonable correction and
harmful traditional practices. The Committee intervened again to
discuss the definition of "unreasonable correction", and the
delegation gave further explanation of what level of corporal
punishment was allowed, and Ms. Mahama said no private school
administered corporal punishment, nor was it a practice in urban
areas. Work needed to continue to ensure that in rural areas it was
supervised and monitored, with the aim of eradicating it once and for
all. 

On customary practices and child rights, the Constitution made it
clear that any practice that dehumanised the person was prohibited.
Where there was conflict between customary and statutory law on the
rights of the child, statutory law was considered to be the supreme
law. With regards to the exposure of children to pornography, the
delegation said that the 1960s legislation on this was inadequate and
woefully out of date. The Government was aware of the need to prevent
objectionable materials and films, and a new Bill had been prepared
and approved by the Cabinet, responding to the need to keep screens
decent and to ensure public decency, discipline, and the protection
of youth from unacceptable films. Ghana realised that it needed to
educate people on the need to change customary practices such as
slavery and female genital mutilation. 

There was a programme for the dissemination of the Convention, the
delegation said. The National Commission for Children had been in
charge of that programme, but now the Ministry for Women and
Children's Affairs managed it. There were about 100 centres around
the country which propagated issues related to the Convention, and
children were involved in the process. In addition to publicity,
seminars and workshops were held, targeting parents, chiefs and
children themselves, to educate them on the various provisions and
problem issues related to the Convention. The relationship with the
media and non-governmental organizations on child-related issues had
resulted in increased participation, and it was easier to talk about
these issues. For the past 10 years, there had been mass improvement
in terms of collection of data. 

Children were increasingly involved in domestic decision-making, the
delegation said, and in the court system they were increasingly
taking up the option to complain about their parents. Participation
was moving forwards significantly. On birth registration, there were
registration facilities in health centres. Children under one year
were registered for free, and since 2004, the Health Service had
instituted a Child Health Week every year to increase coverage in
immunisation and other child survival activities, including the
registration of birth. If children were not born in health centres,
they were registered as soon as they attended one. On what Ghana was
doing to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the delegation
said that in order to reduce child mortality, the Ministry of Health
along with its development partners had a group on accelerating the
reduction of this through a series of high-impact activities. Special
meetings were taking place in each region with high child mortality
to develop special regional plans. More children were being enrolled
in primary education, and there was a massive campaign to this
effect. The Department on Children, under the Ministry of Women and
Children's Affairs, examined issues linked to children, and was a
decentralised department, the delegation said. It monitored
information, and organized the Children's Rights Club. 


*Questions by Experts*

During the second round of questions, the Rapporteur asked what
Ministry was responsible for social services; the scale of benefits
and how long financial support lasted for families, and whether this
was to provide training and provide assistance to make the family
self-sufficient; what was done to prevent trafficking of children
taken abroad by Ghanaian nationals, and whether there was a specific
programme to combat it; whether the prime interest of the child was
taken on board in private children's homes and in State-run homes, as
there was concern that the monitoring of the application of standards
was insufficient; and why the Hague convention on international
adoption had not been adopted, as there were concerns as to whether
Ghanaian adoption standards matched up. 

Other Experts raised questions on, among other things, issues related
to the development of the budget for schools; the need to increase
the attendance figures in kindergartens and primary schools, in
particular in some regions as there were wide differences; whether
there was a special programme to attract girls to schools; the need
for more data on children with disabilities and whether there was a
Ghanaian disability policy; whether girls had equal shares in terms
of inheritance; what was going to be done in the future to combat
malaria; whether efforts were being successful in increasing and
maintaining the exclusive breast-feeding policy; what was being done
to reduce teenage pregnancies; whether the minimum age for marriage
of 18 was enforced; and how many courses had been organised in recent
years to educate people as to the rights of the child, and who could
take these courses. 


*Response by Delegation*

Responding to these questions and others, Ms. Mahama said the budget
was not developed on the basis specifically of the Convention and the
rights of the child. The specific amount of the budget that went to
children could not be determined, but the sum that went to specific
projects could be identified. The concern of the Committee with
regards to the inability to monitor the budget was accepted, and
hopefully, next time the figures would be collated in order to give a
more accurate picture of the figures involved. The Ghana Statistics
Service, together with some stakeholders, would review the situation
with regards to health and welfare issues including social protection
issues over the next few years, and this should give more information
on children's issues in the country. 

On the disability policy, this was approved by the Government in
2000, and had been translated into legislation: a disability Bill had
been prepared and it defined the nature of disability and included
provisions on the education of a person with disability, who had to
be sent to school, the delegation said. The education of persons with
disabilities was free. There was a provision in the Criminal Code
which criminalized forced marriage. Ritual enslavement or "customary
servitude" was also prohibited, and anybody involved therein who was
not the victim was guilty of a misdemeanour. Marriages of young girls
was not common, as they were ever more aware of their rights, and did
not submit to it. Legislation on mental health was being prepared,
and it would contain specific provisions on children with mental
disorders, stipulating that they should be kept in the least
restrictive manner, that their development should be encouraged, and
that their opinion should be taken into account. 

The malaria programme was ongoing, the delegation said, and the use
of bed-nets was increasing, as their use could reduce malaria by
half. It was hoped the programme would be expanded to all regions of
the country. The introduction of intermittent preventative treatment
in pregnant women was also ensuring a drop in malaria and helping to
tangentially tackle the mortality figures. Work was being done to
reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, but it depended on
the availability of anti-retroviral medication which was currently
limited. The incidence of HIV/AIDS had dropped in some regions, but
it remained high in others. Efforts to reduce the associated stigma
were multi-sectoral, and many partners were working together to this
effect. 

On gender disparities and how these were addressed, the delegation
said gender issues featured prominently on the Government's priority
list. The Girl's Education Unit took the lead therein, and there was
a mass campaign for the education of girls. A report showed that
there had been a significant and high increase in the number of girls
attending school since the campaign began. Districts in which gender
disparity were pronounced had been identified, and the Government had
developed strategies, in concert with development partners, in order
to reverse this trend. The reasons girls dropped out of school were
manifold, some related to sanitary facilities in school, some to
pregnancy, others to employment opportunities, and these problems
were being addressed. Almost all the regional Houses of Chiefs had
instituted scholarships for needy children. 

The regional Houses of Chiefs were also part of the formulation of
the national Constitution, which contained various articles on child
rights, the delegation said. The demographic health survey showed
that in 1998, there was 20.8 per cent access to clean drinking water.
In 2002, this was shown to be 28.2 per cent. The Government felt that
access to water had to be increased, and had determined strategies to
increase this and to ensure effective management of urban water
systems. Over the next four years, the Government hoped to ensure
that in urban areas, 70 per cent of people had access to clean water,
and in rural areas 54 per cent had access. The goal of the adolescent
health programme was to improve the health of adolescents through the
provision of knowledge and the utilisation of public health services,
including reproductive services, by making them more
adolescent-friendly. Any time an adolescent came into a health
facility, they could ask for counselling, and this would be provided.
Informative leaflets would also be provided. Contraceptives were also
provided. 

On children with disabilities, considerable progress had been made,
the delegation said. Apart from special schools, there were training
institutions in nine regions, and these taught skills to children
with disabilities who could not integrate into standard schooling.
However, standard practice was to try to integrate these children
into the normal schools, and teachers were trained to be able to
respond to their needs. Prosecutions had taken place following
incidents of female genital mutilation, and activities took place to
impede this practice. 


*Questions by Experts*

In a third round of questions, the Rapporteur Ms. Ouedraogo thanked
the delegation for its sincere replies. The efforts made by the
Government to accept refugee children were acknowledged, however some
needs of the refugees deserved to be taken further into account, in
particular strengthening action for the protection of women and
children against violence and sexual abuse in the camps. The
administration of justice therein should be strengthened, and women
policemen deployed, as this would be of great assistance in solving
these problems. Refugee children who were alone or unaccompanied also
deserved particular attention. On children in armed conflict, reports
had been received on the possible recruitment of children in Ghana to
make them soldiers in other countries, and Ms. Ouedraogo asked if the
Government was aware of this. Further questions focused on the
treatment and rehabilitation of young people who were drug abusers;
the increase in incidents of various forms of sexual exploitation;
and what the Government planned to do to ensure the sustainability of
its programmes. 

Questions by other members of the Committee were on such issues as
street children and whether there was a child-sensitive system for
reporting sexual abuse in schools; the worst forms of child labour
and whether there was any form of agricultural activity in this
context. 


*Response by Delegation*

Responding, the delegation said that there had been reports of child
labour in various areas, including mining, quarrying, fishing and
agriculture. Thirty-nine per cent of children in Ghana between 5 and
17 were engaged in some form of labour, and therefore it was clear
that the problem existed. There were child-labour monitoring
committees in the various districts with the duty of monitoring the
situation. Two trafficking shelters had been established, where the
counselling and rehabilitation of the trafficked children took place
before they were sent back to their communities. There were reports
that there were children engaging in commercial sex activities, and
the Ministry of Women and Children was searching for these children
in order to rehabilitate them and offer them alternatives. 

The Government of Ghana worked closely with the Office of the High
Commissioner for Refugees in Ghana, registering refugee children,
among other things. Ghana had received refugees from Togo, Ivory
Coast and Liberia. Refugee children had been placed in schools, and
summer programmes had ensured that language was not a problem. Ms.
Manama said she was not aware of any child soldiers in Ghana. There
were pockets of drug abuse in some urban locations, but the figures
were very low. There were statistics on child defilement, but Ms.
Manama acknowledged that with a hotline, then more accurate figures
would probably be able to be determined. A lot of education was going
on to encourage children to speak up on such matters, especially in
schools and day-care centres. When cases of abuse within the family
came to the notice of the authorities, the children were immediately
removed to care, and the perpetrators were brought to justice,
despite what the parents might wish. The new Juvenile Justice Act
contained measures covering this subject. Changes to the Criminal
Code had also been made with regards to women in prison, and to
ensure that women with children were not imprisoned. 


*Preliminary Remarks*

AWA N'DEYE OUEDRAOGO, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for
the report of Ghana, said the dialogue had been very productive, and
had enabled the Committee to get a good understanding of the
situation with regards to children and to follow the implementation
of the Convention. The considerable efforts made by the Government
had been noted, despite the various challenges it faced. The
political will and determination seen during the meeting were
encouraging. A lot had been done, but many areas still required
attention, and some measures should be strengthened to have a better
impact, in particular with regards to the poverty reduction strategy,
which should incorporate certain priority aspects. Coordination
should be strengthened, both at the national and local level. The
system of district assemblies was very good, and with increased
resources, the results of this system would be even more
satisfactory. A specific budget for children's issues would be a
positive step, even though she recognised that a significant amount
of resources had already been allocated to children's programmes. The
education of girls, action to reduce maternal and infant mortality,
sexual exploitation and corporal punishment were areas where action
could be undertaken to improve the situation. Efforts to combat
female genital mutilation should continue. 


* *** *

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