Child Rights International committed to children’s rights
Child Rights International (CRI), a non-governmental organisation that is committed to the promotion and protection of the inherent dignity of every child, has stated that “An adult is a child who has survived.”
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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 1989 defines a child as ‘any human person who has not reached the age of 18’.
According to the Wikipedia free encyclopedia, children’s rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.
These rights include their right to association with both parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for physical protection, food, universal state-paid education, health care and criminal laws appropriate for the age and development of the child, equal protection of the child's civil rights and freedom from discrimination on the basis of the child's race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability, colour, ethnicity or other characteristics.
Children's rights
Interpretations of children's rights range from allowing children the capacity for autonomous action to the enforcement of children being physically, mentally and emotionally free from abuse, though what constitutes "abuse" is a matter of debate. Other definitions include the rights to care and nurturing.
While Ghana was at the forefront of the push to formally adopt these principles, not only introducing legislation to enforce the rights but incorporating them into the Ghanaian Constitution, the country has struggled to enforce them at the grass-roots.
Since its establishment in 1997, Child Rights International (CRI) has been fighting for the realisation of these rights. The organisation works not only for the realisation of the fundamental rights of children, but also to create a nurturing environment for the development of their unique abilities, talents and personalities.
Despite some challenges, the organisation has made some major achievements over the years, with the support of its major partners, Mondelez International, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and World University Service of Canada, and another supporting partner, Right to Play.
The copy of a report on the organisation’s activities over the years that was made available to the Daily Graphic mentioned a number of projects undertaken by CRI.
Journalism Code of Ethics
It mentioned that Child Rights International developed a Journalism Code of Ethics with the Ghana Journalists Association and National Media Commission to ensure responsible reporting in the media on issues pertaining to children. The Code of Ethics provides guidance for journalists to conform to journalism ethics, particularly dignity, respect and the promotion of the rights and well-being of children in Ghana.
Child Rights Clubs
In partnership with UNICEF, the CRI has formed Child Rights Clubs in 40 schools, with 2,361 students, made up of 1,647 girls and 714 boys. A further 106 Child Rights Clubs were formed in partnership with Mondelez International. These clubs empower children to stand up for their rights and exhibit their responsibilities through participation, community service and advocacy for child protection and justice for children.
With the formation of the Child Rights Clubs, the CRI supported a child-led research which was used for the creation of many widely disseminated educational materials, as well as a child-friendly child monitoring systems, to check abuse and child labour.
Child Protection Committees
To help promote the Child and Family Welfare Policy, the CRI, in partnership with Mondelez International, established 116 Community Child Protection Committees (CCPCs), most of which had already been trained on child rights and protection issues, enabling them to track, identify, resolve and record child protection issues at the community level.
Last year, the CRI used the Ghana Child Labour Monitoring System (GCLMS) tool to identify children engaged in child labour, and the organisation collected data in all 116 communities in the three districts of the Mondelez Cocoa Life Project.
The CRI also collected data from 106 Child Rights Clubs to identify attendance and retention of children in school.
The CRI also equipped and trained school management committees, parent-teacher associations, head teachers and teachers in child protection and child rights issues, empowering them to identify and resolve child protection issues at the community level and to make referrals when necessary.
Child Initiative Forum
Child Rights International, in partnership with UNICEF, Mondelez International and Right to Play, held the Child Initiative Forum from the 15th to 18th of August. The forum’s theme was: “Promoting Positive Attitudes in Children: How Best Can the Law Help?” and over 200 students from basic and senior schools across the country came together to learn and to share their opinions and perspectives on the topic. The forum offered the children the opportunity to participate in interactive sessions with the resource persons, as well as members of Child Rights Clubs in tertiary institutions.
Projection for 2017
This year, Child Rights International will continue to focus much on its programmes. The Child Initiative Forum is an annual event and would be held again this year to continue to inspire and empower children across Ghana.
CRI’s valuable advocacy work to promote the welfare of children will be maintained, as well as its initiatives in data collection to ensure that there is accurate, relevant information from which issues of child protection can be effectively analysed and impactful programming to address these issues is developed.
In addition, CRI will launch a new initiative this year, dubbed: “The Leave for Effect” programme, which will allow professionals across Ghana to share their knowledge and experiences with children in rural areas, helping to inspire and educate the future of Ghana.
Challenges
The report mentioned lack of implementation of the policies on child rights issues by state institutions and the failure to create state-owned frameworks to ensure that appropriate referrals are made at the community level to the district level as some of its challenges.
