Gender Minister underscores need to renew commitment towards children’s rights

Mrs Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), has said there is the need for all Ghanaians to renew their commitment towards the protection of children and that ensure all rights due them are fully implemented.

She said this calls for a new era for the protection of children; an era of adequate resources for child protection issue; an era of responsible parenting; and an era where children have peace of mind and happiness they need to grow up to be responsible adults.

Mrs Morrison said this in her remarks during the commemoration of 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC30), hosted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with MoGCSP.

The ceremony witnessed the lighting of the iconic Black Star Gate by the Government of Ghana, UNICEF and partners, signifying continued commitment to defending the rights of children in Ghana.

The United Nations CRC adopted in 1989 is an international convention that spells out the manner in which children should be treated with regards to their rights; civil, political, social, economic and cultural.

As a signatory to the CRC and the first country to ratify this treaty, Ghana is under obligation to ensure the promotion and protection of child rights irrespective of the child’s nationality.

Mrs Morrison said CRC was the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history and has helped to transform children’s lives around the world.

She said this year’s celebration was extra special for children in Ghana as it marks 40 years of government machinery for child rights implementation in the country.

“It is a great honor to join my dear children on this hallowed ground to light the Black Star Gate blue and tell the world that Ghana has a high regard for its children and every duty bearer must wake up to their roles and responsibility”, she added.

Madam Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s West and Central Africa Regional Director, also noted the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child signifies that every girl or boy child is an important stakeholder on the planet, that their rights must be fulfilled, respected and protected.

She said the world’s children- Ghana’s children- are relying on duty-bearers; governments, businesses, teachers, community leaders, parents, caregivers- to play their role and uphold their commitment to defend these rights.

Madam Poirier noted that UNICEF was honored to partner with governments and other key stakeholders, including children, to realize the rights of every child in Ghana, Africa and across the world.

Prince Yaw Tetteh-Cole, a 13-year-old student of St Barnabas Anglican Basic School, who delivered a speech on behalf of children, said a number of institutions had been established to perform various functions to enhance effective child’s protection and rights.

He said there are still issues of inadequate access to food, safe drinking water, health education.

He said the future of society depends on the quality of children, whereas, the quality of children depends on the quality of nurturing, underscoring the need to provide children with good quality nurturing through effective child’s right protection.