Children count - Make the commitment

Article: Salome Donkor
TO many parents and those who have the interest of children at heart,"every day is Children's Day". The World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva, Switzerland proclaimed June 1 as International Children's Day in 1925 to promote the well-being of children around the world. This followed resolutions taken at the World Conference in Geneva, Switzerland that year.
On this day, the whole world observes the need to reach out to the youngest members of our world community. Each year in commemoration of International Children's Day, Amnesty International calls on the international community to take concrete steps to protect and promote children's rights, which are the foundation for a thriving human rights culture.
It is not clear as to why June 1 was chosen as the International Children's Day: One theory has it that the Chinese consul-general in San Francisco (USA) gathered a number of Chinese orphans to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in 1925, which happened to be on June 1 that year, and also coincided with the conference in Geneva.
The day, celebrated as a holiday in some countries, is usually marked with speeches on children's rights and well-being, children TV programmes, parties, various activities involving or dedicated to children, with some families going out with their children. Many nations declare days for children on other dates.
In the United States of America, Children’s Day observations predate both Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day, though a permanent annual single Children's Day observation is not made at the national level.
The celebration of a special Children’s Day in America dates from the 1860s and earlier.
In 1856, Rev. Charles H. Leonard, then pastor of the First Universalist Church of Chelsea, Mass., set apart a Sunday for the dedication of children to the Christian life, and for the re-dedication of parents and guardians to bringing-up their children in Christian nurture. This service was first observed the second Sunday in June.
In Ghana, similar programmes are held in some churches such as the Presbyterian and Methodist that mark Children’s day with drama, Bible recitals, and talk on children’s rights and development. Such programmes are also used to raise funds in support the Children’s Ministry of those churches.
To mark the 20th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Geneva Conventions, respectively, the International Committee of the Red Cross has issued a new brochure on children and war. This brochure examines the risks faced by children caught up in armed conflict, the steps taken to address their specific needs and the rules of law defined to protect them.
Much was not heard about this year’s International Children’s Day celebration in the country, but one significant programme held in Accra on Saturday June 5, that is also related to the promotion of child’s rights, was the launch of the 2010 World Day Against Child Labour and the current International Labour Organisation (ILO) Child Labour Global Report.
The worst forms of child labour as defined in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 182 included practices such as the sale and trafficking of children, serfdom and forced or compulsory labour including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution, or for the production of pornography or pornographic performance: And the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs.
Some people contend that there is no child labour in the country,arguing that children who help their parents to raise money
for the upkeep of the family are not engaged in child labour. However, the 2003 Ghana Child Labour Survey (GCLS 2003), revealed that 2.47 million children out of an estimated number of 6.36 million aged between 5 and 17, were economically active, with about 1.27 million in activities classified as child labour.
Speaking at the programme, the Deputy Commissioner of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms Anna Bossman, was reported to have stated that child labour continued to pose problems that resulted in child abuse and hindered the growth and development of children in developing countries.
A communiqué adopted by participants after the six-day forum at the recent annual Easter School for Children in Sunyani, organised by Child's Rights International (CRI) in co-operation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), urged the Department of Social Welfare to monitor the activities of children and called on the Department of Social Welfare, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC),to institute programmes to tackle the problems of child labour and early marriages involving children.
This was based on their observations and findings during different field trips to the Techiman Market, various houses, shops and drinking bars to distribute 250 copies of the Children’s Act 560. The visit to the Techiman Market revealed that, although the day of the visit was not a market day, there were many children at the market carrying loads of food items.
The communiqué indicated that majority of the children, aged between six and 17 started selling at the age of six, with some of them ‘working’ permanently for the whole week for approximately 10 hours a day, while those working temporarily, ‘work’ five days a week, earning between GH¢1 and GH¢20, with some earning as low as 50 Ghana pesewas a day.
It said most of the children, who were malnourished, lived in rented kiosks and stores, and take unprescribed drugs to ease their body pains, and some were knocked down by vehicles without any compensation.
Recognising the need to respond to the health, education, safety, and social and emotional well-being of children, countries that joined the world community in observing International Children's Day renewed their commitment to improving the lives of children around the world.
Ghana, as well as the global community in general need to commit herself to promoting access to a quality education for all children,strive to improve the lives of young people by seeking innovative solutions to poverty,including programmes that provide emergency relief, promote economic opportunity and integrate human rights concerns into humanitarian assistance.
As a parent/guardian, we need to commit ourselves to love, cherish and nurture our children physically, mentally,emotionally, attend to their spiritual needs and affirm our love to them. All adults have the responsibility to make the world a better place for children.