Child labour still on ascendancy in Ghana – Expert

Mr Eric Okrah, a Child Protection Specialist, has said the ascendancy of the worst forms of child labour in the society has been justified through the cultural concept of training and fosterage.

He said some parents have also attributed the increasing trend of child labour to poverty as the reasons for the menace.

Mr Okrah said this during the opening of a two-day workshop for national level partners involved in the implementation of the National Plan of Action to eliminate child labour in Accra.

He said reports show that trafficking in children was a channel for cheap child labour in all the sectors of the economy.

“Children are complaint workers, they cannot protest, or enforce their legal rights unaided,” he said.

He said Ghana has good policies and Laws on Children’s rights and was the first to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Conventions 138 and 182 but the difficulty lay in the implementation process to protect these children.

He said children’s rights have not received much attention and the awareness of the legal provision was low on child protection.

Mr Okrah called on Government to demonstrate its commitment by providing resources to build the capacity of institutions responsible for the implementation of policies and laws on children’s rights in the country.

The Child Protection Specialist urged parents and Government to invest in the future of their children and called for support to break the cycle of poverty in the society.

Mr Clarke Noyoru, Programme Officer at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, said the Ministry was developing child protection policy systems to identify the various services needed by children.

He said the Ministry was re-structuring its unit into three departments consisting of department of Gender, Social Protection and Children.

He said the Ministry shall focus on innovative ways to effectively implement the juvenile justice system.

Source: GNA