Statement by Mrs. Angelina Baiden Amissah ( The Chairman, Select Committee on Gender & Children) OAU Day of the African Child-2001
Source: parliament_of_ghana
Date: 2001-06-16

o STATEMENT BY MRS, ANGELINA BAIDEN AMISSAH (THE CHAIRMAN, fronse SELECT COMMITTEE ON GENDER & CHILDREN) OAU Day Of The African Child —2001. Mr. Speaker, Saturday, June 16,2001, will be commemorated by member African nations as the QAU Day of the African Child, The Day was instituted in 1990 by a resolution of the 51 — member Organisation of African Unity, OAU, which has now heen transformed into the African Union. The Day may then, more appropriately, be called African Union Day of the Child. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members of the House, the Day of the African Child was instituted %o provide an opportunity for African governments, its peoples, non governraental organisations, international agencies, the media and civil society as a whole to reflect on the ongoing needs of Africa’s children. It is also to call attention to the opportunities for child survival and development. The day, 16" June was chosen to honour the memory of school children who - South Africa, in 1976. Were massacred in Soweto, The theme for this year’s celebration is “Child Protection Against Abuse and Exploitation”. The theme is to encompass sexually exploited children, child trafficking. Child prostitution, child pornography and child labour. Mr. Speakr events happening on the continent makes it imperative that sustainable structures are put in place to preserve the lives and dignity of our children for their proper development, The work of child human rights activists all over the world is helping society, daily, to see the afrocities that organised groups commit against children. Sale of children into slavery and trafficking of children for commercial sex purposes are gradually being revealed and are assuming an alarming dimension in some cases. Last April, the whole world was rocked by the news of a present day “slave” ship which was carrying on board several African children along the West Aftican coast, sold by poor parents or relatives and were being shipped to unknown destination and for unknown purpose. While this incident did not occur in our own country, Ghana is not free from such dealings with children. About the same time that the world woke up to the this nasty news, our own newspapers also caried the story of the arrest of a woman and five other adults on the suspicion of attempting to abduct 13 children across the border at Paga intovpeighbouring Burkina Faso. There have been a number of other reports suggesting that children are fast becoming a “commercial commodity” for unscrupulous adults in our sub-region. Studies undertaken by some institutions and groups in Ghana indicate that children are being “bought” and used by local fisher men in the Volta River basin area where they are made to dive under water to untangle nets which get caught up with tree stumps. Reports indicate that many of these children die under water as their inexperienced little bodies also get entangled in the fishing nets. Some of these deaths are never even reported to the parents or guardians of the children, Mr. Speaker, some of these happenings are an affront o our society and it is a crying shame that at this time and age, afler over ten (10) years of almost universal ratification of the UN convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC), African Governments have not been able to put in place and make effective mechanisms and structures to prevent this kind of biftant abuse of child;'é\fi’s rights. - The need for drastic measures to be put in place to end such abuses of children can not be over emphasised. This brings us to the very root of the problem, which is poverty, and the need for African governments, including our ewn to do all in their power to try to climinate extreme poverty from our societies. Children and women have always borne the worst effects of poverty and under — development, making them all the more vulnerable to some of the hazards mentioned above. Over the past several years, international and national organisations have made efforts, and made some gains, to promote the well being of children and women through a rights based approach. Acceptance and recognition of the fundamentat human rights of women and children will have far reaching implication for their sustainable development since most of the problems that these groups face are cultural based and have been found to be a stumbling block in the path of national progress and prosperity. Both women and children need to be empowered to rise above poverty and ignorance. Children’s access to education and the question of quality gf education have to be critically fooked at, particularly in the rural areas, to engender the interest and desire PR for children to go to school and stay there. While looking at this, the issue of poor families and their inability to maintain their children in school needs to be considered along side. We need to realise that no matter how free education is made to be, children of poor parents would still find it difficult to go to school regularly where is hunger, disease and ill health. The Mock OAU Children’s Summit being organised today will draw attention of government, MPs, policy makers and implementers to the persisting and emerging issues that affect their survival and development. The children will also call for concrete measures to addressiome of the most pressing problems. At the end of the day, the children will present a resolution to the Speaker of Parliament and the Chairman of the Select Committee on Gender and Children. We need to encourage our children in these activities as it gives hope for the future; a future generation of people who will be already scnsit\;ged to issues of hlfij}}an rights and respect for the views and opinions of others. It will go a long way to cement our budding democracy to make our country a fit place for children