A Justice of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Dennis Adjei has entreated the Police to enforce the Children`s Act, 1998 (Act 560) in the interest of every child found in conflict with the laws of Ghana. He said this when he was schooling some selected police officers to enhance their knowledge of juvenile justice. The officers were selected from various districts of the Greater Accra Region, Eastern region and Volta region. This forms part of a three (3) year project being run by Legal Resources Centre (LRC) dubbed Justice for Children: Bridging the Gap between legislation and practice.
In his presentation, he enlightened the Police Officers on the makeup of the constitution of Ghana, how and when to use them appropriately. He did so in light of ensuring that the officers had a very good appreciation of the sources of Law in Ghana and eventually narrowed down to laws pertaining to children since the emphasis of the training was geared at enhancing the capacity of security agencies in dealing with children who come into conflict or contact with the law.
As part of discussions at the training, it was intimated that according to the Children`s Act, 1998, a child is a person below the age of eighteen years and the best interest of the child shall be paramount in any matter concerning a child. The best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration by any court, person, institution in any matter concerned with a child. Also, sections 12 and 13 of the Act provides for the protection of children from exploitative labor, torture and degrading treatment, hence a violation of any of the provisions of the act is deemed an offense punishable by law.
Justice Dennis Adjei enumerated some criminal and other offenses of which children are most likely to be victims or offenders. These include defilement, conspiracy, assault, unlawful harm, rape, child trafficking, abandonment of a child and stealing. He entreated all the participants and stakeholders that are responsible for juvenile matters to uphold the law and make it work in furtherance of protecting the rights of children.
Ms. Daphne Lariba Nabila, Executive Director of the Legal Resources Centre in an interview with GBC Sunrise FM said children are found vulnerable in various societies especially those who have come in conflict or contact with the law. Thus, it has become necessary to train the police to enhance their ability to protect child rights. She added that the ongoing project by the LRC on Justice for children is with support from the European Union and its objectives include: Facilitate the reform of laws, policies and procedures to improve access to justice for children; Provide legal assistance to at least 350 juvenile in conflict with the law in all the Regions of Ghana; Train 500 security officers in the Justice Sector and 150 certified paralegals across the country.
Source: http://www.gbcsunrisefmonline.com/news/912028-childrens-act-enacted-to-protect-the-interest-of-every-child-in-ghana-make-it-work-justice-dennis-adjei-to-police
