UN Committee to review Ghana's record on children's rights

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 13, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Ghana's record on children's rights will be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on Wednesday 20 May and Thursday 21 May in sessions that will be webcast live.

Ghana is one of the 195 states that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and so is required to undergo regular examinations of its record by the Committee of 18 independent experts.

The discussions between the CRC and the delegation from the Ghanaian Government will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva at the following times:

20 May: 15:00-18:00 (13:00-16:00 in Ghana)

21 May: 10:00-13:00 (08:00 - 11:00)

The sessions will be webcast at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.

Among the possible issues to be discussed: measures to eliminate discrimination against vulnerable children, particularly children with disabilities; steps to increase birth registration; measures to combat spread of HIV/AIDS and reduce poverty; legislation and awareness-raising to eradicate harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, early marriage and ritual servitude (Trokosi); measures to eradicate worst forms of child labour.

The full list of issues and Ghana's submitted written report can be found here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=829&Lang=en . The CRC's concluding observations on Ghana and the other countries being reviewed – Eritrea, Mexico, Honduras, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Laos and Israel - will be published on this page on 10 June.