Committee on the Rights of the Child

Sixty- ninth session

25 May–12 June 2015

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the combined third to fifth periodic reports of Ghana

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (10,700 words maximum), if possible before 15 March 2015

The Committee may take up any aspects of the children’s rights set out in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

In this section, the State party is requested to submit its responses to the following questions (30 pages maximum)

Please provide information on the measures taken to guarantee the implementation of all legislation in the area of children’s rights.

Please inform the Committee on the content of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (2014–2018), the Child and Family Welfare Policy and the Justice for Children Policy, and indicate whether such policies and agendas are adopted, implemented and provided with sufficient resources. Please also indicate whether there are mechanisms in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of such policies and agendas.

Please clarify the mandate and capacity of the Ministry of Gender, Children and social protection, in terms of its human, financial and technical resources, to coordinate the implementation of children’s rights across relevant sectors and from national to regional and local levels.

Please provide detailed information on the measures taken to eliminate de facto discrimination against all children in vulnerable situations such as girls, children with disabilities, children of asylum seekers, children of immigrants, children infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDs and children in street situations.

Please inform the Committee on the measures taken to increase birth registration for all children in the State party, including newborn children and those who have not been registered at birth. Please also indicate the measures taken to raise awareness of the importance of birth registration among parents and professionals.

Please inform the Committee on the action taken by the State party to fully prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings as well as to educate the public with a view to changing its belief in violent discipline. Please indicate what mechanisms exist for child victims of abuse and violence to seek remedy and protection from perpetrators.

In the light of reports that informal kinship and informal foster care mechanisms which have been common in the State party are under strain due to socioeconomic pressures on informal foster families, please clarify what measures the State party has taken to accommodate and care for children who are deprived of a family environment.

Please indicate the steps taken to include children with disabilities in the regular education system and in society by providing special training for teachers, educating parents and making the physical environment, including sports and leisure facilities and all other public areas, accessible for children with disabilities.

In the light of reports that children with mental disabilities are confined to psychiatric institutions where they are subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, please inform the Committee what alternative measures exist for children with mental disabilities to live in a community in a family-type environment and receive the necessary support, including stimulation for their adequate development.

Please provide detailed information on the progress made by the State party in providing access to quality health services, as well as access to water and sanitation in rural areas. Please also inform the Committee on the measures taken to further decrease the number of children who suffer from stunting and malnutrition.

Please inform the Committee on the measures taken to combat the spread and effects of HIV/AIDs, by training professionals, conducting education campaigns on prevention, improving the mother-to-child transmission programmes, providing free antiretroviral medication and improving protection and support for AIDS orphans.

Please indicate the measures taken by the State party to strengthen the relevant legislation and conduct awareness-raising campaigns to eradicate harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, early marriage and Trokosi.

The Committee notes the achievements of the State party in reducing overall poverty; however please explain the reasons behind the increasing inequality in income distribution and increasing poverty among children.

Please provide detailed information on the reasons behind the increase in private education and the low quality of public education, including the lack of teachers and teacher absenteeism, in the State party, which limits access to quality education for children whose parents cannot afford private school tuition fees.

Please inform the Committee on the measures taken to eradicate the worst forms of child labour, including in mining and quarrying, fisheries and commercial sexual exploitation, and to establish control over the working conditions of economically active children above the age of 15 years.

Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure that children in conflict with the law are detained only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible time. Please also inform the Committee on the measures taken to ensure that children are not detained with adults and are provided with education and leisure activities during their time in detention, both in prisons and in correctional centres.

Part II

In this section the Committee invites the State party to provide a brief update (no more than three pages in length) on the information presented in its report regarding:

(a)New bills and laws, and their respective regulations;

(b)New institutions and their mandates, and institutional reforms;

(c)Recently introduced policies, programmes and action plans and their scope and financing;

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

Please provide data disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin and geographical location, covering the past three years, on the number/prevalence of:

(a)Cases of abuse and violence against children, including all forms of corporal punishment, with additional information on the type of assistance given to child victims and on the follow-up provided, including prosecution of the perpetrators and the sentences handed down in the State party;

(b)Cases of female genital mutilation and Trokosi in the State party, disaggregated by age and region and on the follow-up provided, including the penalties for perpetrators, and on the redress and compensation offered to the victims;

(c)Cases of child marriage, disaggregated by age, sex and region, and on the follow-up provided;

(d)Stunting and malnutrition in infants and children;

(e)Children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Please provide data disaggregated by age, sex, socio-economic background, ethnic origin and geographical location regarding the situation of children deprived of a family environment, covering the past three years, on the number of children:

(a)Separated from their parents;

(b)Living in street situations;

(c)Placed in institutions;

(d)Placed with foster families;

(e)Placed informally in extended and other families;

(f)Adopted domestically or through intercountry adoptions.

Please provide data, disaggregated by age, sex, type of disability, ethnic origin and geographical location, for the past three years, on the number of children with disabilities:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)In institutions;

(c)Attending regular primary schools;

(d)Attending regular secondary schools;

(e)Attending special schools;

(f)Out of school;

Please provide data, disaggregated inter alia by age, sex, socioeconomic background and ethnic origin, for the past three years, on:

(a)The enrolment and completion rates, disaggregated by sex and in percentages, of the relevant age groups in pre-primary schools, in primary schools and in secondary schools;

(b)The number and percentage of dropouts and repetitions; and

(c)The number of children attending private schools.

Please provide data on social protection measures, disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background and ethnic group, for the past three years, on the number of children:

(a)Involved in child labour;

(b)Involved in hazardous work.

Please provide data, disaggregated inter alia by age, sex, ethnic origin and type of crime, for the past three years, on the number of children:

(a)Who have allegedly committed a crime and who have been reported to the police;

(b)Who have been sentenced and on the types of punishment or sanctions handed down for the offences they have committed, and on the length of deprivation of liberty;

(c)Who are in detention facilities for children and in adult facilities.

Please provide the Committee with an update of any data in the report which may have been superseded by more recent data collected, or affected by new developments.

In addition, the State party may list issues affecting children that it considers to be of priority with regard to the implementation of the Convention.