Cabinet approves memoranda on children
Cabinet has granted approval for four memoranda on children for the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection.
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They include the ratification of the 1993 Hague Convention on inter-country adoptions, amendment of the Children’s Act , approval of Child and Family Welfare Policy and approval for the optional protocol to the convention on the rights of the child, on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography to be laid before Parliament for ratification.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, the ratification of the 1993 Hague Convention on inter-country adoption would enable Ghana to better comply with the provisions on alternative care as provided for in the convention on the rights of the child.
This would thereby better protect the best interest of the child which would also provide an opportunity for Ghana to regulate its laws on inter-country adoptions.
Cabinet’s approval for the ratification of the convention would enable the government to create a Central Authority for Adoption in Ghana to be responsible for the processing of all inter-country adoptions, the statement said.
Furthermore, it said Ghana’s accession to the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption made monitoring of children placed in inter-country adoption effective.
Ghana’s accession to the 1993 Hague Convention on inter-country adoption required that the Children’s Act be amended, stating that it was for this reason that Cabinet approved a request from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to amend the Children’s Act.
Child and Family Welfare Policy
The Child and Family Welfare Policy approved by Cabinet sought to establish a well-structured and co-ordinated child and family welfare system that promoted the well-being of children, prevented abuse and protected children from harm.
The overall goal of the policy was to help formulate child and family welfare programmes and activities to more effectively prevent and protect children from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Optional Protocol
The statement indicated that pptional Protocol to the convention on the rights of the child, on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography had been approved to be laid before Parliament for ratification.
The Optional Protocol, which criminalised the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, sought to reinforce the protection of the rights of the child.
This would guarantee such rights as related to sexual and economic exploitation and from doing any work that would interfere with the child’s education or harmful to the health, moral or social development of the child.