Accra, June 16, GNA – Compassion International Ghana (CIG), a Non-Governmental Organisation, has appealed to government to ensure that children’s needs are prioritized in the ongoing judicial reforms.
The organisation expressed commitment to continue to promote the use of the legal systems for redress of cases of child abuse, exploitation and neglect.
This was in a statement signed by Mrs Gifty Dansoa Appiah, the National Director of CIG, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday to mark this year’s African Union Day of the African Child, which falls on June 16.
“As we commemorate the Day, we will like to encourage all stakeholders to continue to invest in and protect the interest and rights of the Ghanaian child,” it said.
“We thank our Frontline Church Partners (FCP) and all the personnel of the judiciary who in diverse ways have upheld the rights of Ghanaian children at the courts over the years.”
The organisation and its partners were committed to paying all legal fees associated with accessing the justice system for children in their programmes, it said.
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has chosen the theme: “Access to a Child-Friendly Justice System in Africa,” to commemorate the Day.
The statement said the organisation believed that children should be known, loved and protected, which were central to God’s heart.
“As an expression of that belief, CIG places the love, care and protection of children above all other considerations. Because children living in extreme poverty are among the most vulnerable in the world.”
The statement reminded partners, especially the Government, of the immense role it played in the protection of children from maltreatment, hunger, sexual abuse and all forms of injustices.
The organisation is currently working with its FCP to educate the children and youth on the COVID-19 pandemic and its related child protection risks.
It also strengthens families by educating caregivers to emotionally support and protect their children, and provide financial and material assistance and psychosocial support to children and families who needed it.
The AU Day of the African Child was instituted in 1976 on June 16, in memory of the children who died in Soweto, South Africa.
GNA