The Parliament of Ghana in partnership with UNICEF Ghana and the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), has launched the Parliamentary Caucus on Children to strengthen the protection and promotion of children’s rights through legislation, budgeting and parliamentary oversight.
The new cross-party caucus is expected to ensure that issues affecting children receive greater attention in Parliament’s work and national development planning.
Although Ghana has made significant progress in improving the wellbeing of children, many child-related concerns are still not consistently reflected in national laws, budget decisions and public policies. Children between the ages of 0 and 19 make up about 15.1 million people, representing 45 per cent of Ghana’s population.
The Parliamentary Caucus on Children will bring together Members of Parliament from different political parties to champion policies and laws that improve the lives of children. It will also strengthen Parliament’s role in monitoring programmes, approving child-focused budgets and ensuring accountability for commitments made to children.
The Caucus will focus on promoting child rights in legislation, policies and national budgets, advocating for increased investment in children and social services, strengthening oversight of programmes that affect children, monitoring Ghana’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and encouraging safe and meaningful participation of children in governance.
Membership of the Caucus will be voluntary and will include Members of Parliament from relevant committees with balanced representation across political parties, gender, regions and both urban and rural constituencies.
The initiative will operate on the principles of non-partisanship, equality, transparency, accountability, evidence-based decision-making, child participation and the best interests of every child.
According to the organisers, the establishment of the Parliamentary Caucus on Children provides a stronger institutional platform to place children’s issues at the centre of national decision-making. It is expected to improve child sensitive legislation, strengthen parliamentary oversight, increase accountability in the use of public resources for children and promote greater collaboration among parliamentary committees on child-related matters.
The Parliamentary Caucus on Children is a joint initiative of the Parliament of Ghana, UNICEF Ghana and the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) with the shared goal of improving the lives and future of every child in Ghana.
UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to protect the rights and wellbeing of children, especially the most vulnerable and continues to support efforts to ensure that every child has the opportunity to survive, learn and thrive.
By: Michael Walier
