Stakeholders engage in justice for children

Stakeholder consultation on justice for children aimed at influencing national institutions to be more transparent, accountable and human rights oriented in dealing with issues involving children has ended in Takoradi in the Western Region.

The programme on the theme: “Justice for Children: bridging the gap between legislation and practice was organised by legal resources centre, a Non-Governmental Organisation with funding from the European Union.

Mr Clarke Noyoru, a lawyer and Project Coordinator said child rights continued to be a major issue of local and international concern.

According to him, the project seeks to bridge the gap between legislation and practice within the broad outlook of Ghana’s Justice for children system by ensuring that children in conflict and in contact with the law were adequately protected through targeted interventions including; policy and legislative reforms as well as enhance service delivery.

The project may enable the revision of existing child justice legislative, policy and institutional framework, identify gaps and propose amendment to exising legislation or policy reforms for the promotion and protection of children in conflict and contact with the law.

He mentioned that in consistence with the broad outlook of the project, it was necessary that relevant stakeholders in the child justice sector were e consulted and discourse engendered to identify legislative, policy as well as build synergies to ensure massive discourse on strategies that would promote an enhanced child justice within the concept of the justice policy and relevant legislation.

The stakeholders, including; the Clergy, Ghana police service, Legal Aid, Births and Death registry, NADMO, Judiciary, Media, Social welfare discussed issues such as the situation of justice for children, concept of justice for children, child justice principles, legislation, policy and institutional framework.

Some school children also joined in the discussion and prayed that the laws that addressed child right issues on children in contact or conflict with the law would be amended to fully protect children.

The stakeholders, therefore, called for a well-documented process, clarity and certainty of procedures within the community justice system.