Mother and child abuse dominate human rights issue in Upper West

Wa, Jan. 26, GNA - Teenage mothers and children are the most neglected and poverty stricken in the Upper West Region, a human rights official revealed and described it as the worst form of human rights abuse. Out of about 349 cases of human rights abuses that were recorded last year in the region, 229 of them fell within that category. Mr. Siddique Ubeidu, the Acting Regional Director of the Commission, on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in a telephone with to GNA in Wa said men who father these children are to blame as they do not provide the basic necessities of life such as shelter, clothing, food, education and health to the women and children.

The Acting Director attributed the problem to the high level of poverty and illiteracy as well as irresponsible behaviour on the part of some parents.

He called for the provision of quality education for children and their teenage mothers as they constituted a significant percentage of the country's ignorant and suffering population.

"Lack of education and employment breeds criminals, it is therefore important to educate our children well so that they can become responsible and contribute to the economic growth of the country", he pointed out. Touching on other forms of human rights abuses in the region, Mr. Ubeidu mentioned failure to honour obligations or pay End of Service Benefits (ESB) by some employers as some of the cases that the Commission had been trying to resolve.

He said the Commission was extensively engaged in public education through meetings with opinion leaders in the communities including formation of human rights clubs in the various Senior High schools in the region. "We counsel women too on the need to venture into income generating activities to enable them support their families". He however stated that the Commission lacked the necessary resources especially in the area of transport to enable it function effectively and called on philanthropists, NGOs and other organisations to help.