The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has urged the government to enhance and extend social protection services in order to make them more child-friendly.
As a result, the commission has proposed the implementation of child transfers, including grants.
CHRAJ claimed this will serve to increase the family incomes of the poor and decrease the chance of children being forced into dangerous work circumstances in a statement issued by its chairman, Joseph Whittal, on World Day Against Child Labor yesterday.
The panel also encouraged the government to fulfill Target 1.3 of the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 1, which called on all UN member nations to reduce poverty and create domestically adequate social protection systems and measures for all people with significant needs.
As Ghana prepares to submit its national report to the Human Rights Council for the fourth cycle review in October, the commission urged the government to execute relevant recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review.
The Eventful Day
On June 12, the United Nations commemorates World Day Against Child Labour, which is dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of child labor and human trafficking. This year's celebration is titled "Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour."
Child labor affects more than 160 million children worldwide, some as young as five years old, according to the United Nations.
According to ILO data used in the CHRAJ statement, more than one in every four children aged five to 17 years old in least developed countries is involved in labor that is harmful to their health and development.
While the percentage of children engaged in child labor was higher in low-income nations, it was higher in middle-income ones, according to the report.
Ghana
"In Ghana, an average of 21% of children aged five to 17 years are participating in child labor, with 14% engaging in hazardous kinds of labor," according to the statement.
Meanwhile, the country is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, according to CHRAJ.
"Ghana has a comprehensive legal and policy framework in place to safeguard children on a national level. The 1992 Constitution safeguards children's rights against any work that jeopardizes their development. There's also the Children's Act of 1998 (Act 560), the Human Trafficking Act of 2005 (Act 694), the Domestic Violence Act of 2007 (Act 732), the Criminal Code of 1960 (Act 29), and the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act of 1998 (Act 554)," according to the statement.
The country's comprehensive social protection framework, according to CHRAJ, includes the Social Protection Policy and its flagship programs, such as Livelihoods Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), Labour-Intensive Public Works (LIPW), School Feeding Programme (SFP), National Health Insurance (NHIS) Exemptions, and Basic Education Capitation Grants.
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