Ghana to collaborate with UNICEF on child rights

9/9/09

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
GHANA has offered to open herself up for inspection by the international community to establish whether the country engages in child labour on cocoa farms as claimed by some civil rights campaigners.
Consequently, the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has asked UNICEF to co-operate with Ghana to open up the country for inspection.
He made the commitment when the Country Director of UNICEF, Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, called on him at the Castle, Osu, yesterday.
The visit was to discuss child rights issues and inform the Vice-President of preparations towards the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Ghana was the first country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Mr Mahama said Ghana always “takes pride to be the first country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child”.
He said the government took the issue of child rights seriously, and indicated that the government continued to educate the people on the rights of children and how they should protect those rights.
Mr Mahama said Ghana did not engage in child labour on cocoa farms as some civil rights advocates who wanted Ghana to be blacklisted claimed.
He said the cocoa farms were mainly owned by families.
He said as part of Ghanaian culture, parents went to farms with their children, so that the children could participate in the activities of their parents as they grew up.
Dr Haque commended Ghana for being the first country to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
She also lauded the government for promoting education and the welfare of children in the country.
Dr Hague said she wanted to discuss legislation on children, consider any gaps therein and how they were being enforced in the country.
In a related development, Ghana and Guinea have reiterated their commitment to strengthen economic, educational and cultural relations.
Vice-President Mahama and the Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea to Ghana, Mr Batho-Obam Nsue-Mengue, made the commitment when the latter paid a visit to the Castle, Osu yesterday.
Mr Mahama said Ghana was committed to revamping the joint economic partnership agreement it signed with Equatorial Guinea in 2000.
He said with a new Ghana Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, it was ripe for the two countries to kick-start their economic relations.
Mr Nsue-Mengue commended the Vice-President on his election victory and expressed the hope that relations between the two countries would be strengthened further.