COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXAMINES REPORT OF GHANA

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.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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