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Summary: The violations highlighted are those issues raised with the State by more than one international mechanism. This is done with the intention of identifying children's rights which have been repeatedly violated, as well as gaps in the issues covered by NGOs in their alternative reports to the various human rights monitoring bodies. These violations are listed in no particular order.
Scroll to: ----------------------------------- Harmful traditional practices, notably FGM and early marriages Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2006 55. The Committee notes with appreciation the efforts undertaken by the State party to address the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), including a bill to amend the Criminal Code that strengthens the provision against female circumcision. However, it remains concerned that FGM is still practised in the State party. Concern is also expressed about the persistence of early marriages and other harmful traditional practices such as Trokosi. 56. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its legislative measures and conduct awareness-raising campaigns to combat FGM and eradicate this and other traditional practices harmful to the health, survival and development of children, especially girls. The Committee recommends that the State party introduce sensitization programmes for practitioners and the general public to encourage change in traditional. UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CERD/C/62/CO/4 Last reported: 17 / 18 March 2003 While noting the legislative and other measures adopted to eradicate practices that are harmful to the health and dignity of women, the Committee is concerned that some practices, in particular female genital mutilation, degrading treatment of widows and the Trokosi system. (Paragraph 12). UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/GHA/3-5) Last reported: 9 August 2006 Concluding Observations issued: 25 August 2006 The Committee is concerned about the prevalence of a patriarchal ideology with firmly entrenched stereotypes and the persistence of deep-rooted cultural norms, customs and traditions, including widowhood rites, female genital mutilation, and "Trokosi" (ritual slavery), which discriminates against women and constitute serious obstacles to women's enjoyment of their human rights. The Committee is also concerned about the persistence of the belief in witchcraft in some parts of the country, in particular in rural areas, and the fact that women accused of being witches are subjected to violence and are confined in witch camps. (Paragraph 21). The Committee urges the State party to introduce, without delay and in conformity with articles 2 (f) and 5 (a) of the Convention, concrete measures to modify and eliminate customs and cultural and harmful traditional practices that discriminate against women, so as to promote women's full enjoyment of their human rights. In particular, the Committee urges the State party to eliminate such practices as widowhood rites, female genital mutilation, "Trokosi" (ritual slavery), and confining women believed to be witches in witch camps. It invites the State party to implement existing legislation prohibiting such practices and adopt new legislation, as necessary, to eliminate these harmful traditional practices. It also invites the State party to increase its efforts to design and implement comprehensive education and awareness-raising programmes targeting women and men at all levels of society, including traditional leaders, with a view to changing discriminatory social and cultural patterns of conduct and to creating an enabling and supportive environment for women to exercise their human rights. The Committee encourages the State party to implement these necessary efforts in collaboration with civil society organizations, women's organizations and community leaders. It further calls upon the State party to review periodically the measures taken to assess the impact of these efforts and take appropriate remedial measures, and to report on results to the Committee in its next report. Child marriage: [.........] The Committee is furthermore concerned that, even though the Children's Act 1998 (Act 560) sets the minimum age of marriage at 18 years, customary practices still lead to child betrothals and child marriages. (Paragraph 35). The Committee urges the State party to harmonize civil, religious and customary law with article 16 of the Convention, and to effectively implement the Children's Act 1998 (Act 560) prohibiting child marriages. The Committee also calls upon the State party to implement measures aimed at eliminating polygamy, as called for in the Committee's general recommendation No. 21 on equality in marriage and family relations. UN Committee against Torture (CAT/C/GHA/1) Last reported: 16 / 17 May 2011 Harmful traditional practices: The Committee takes note of the positive actions of the Government in criminalizing harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation and trokosi (ritual or customary slavery). It also notes the 25 per cent decrease in the number of reported cases of female genital mutilation between 1999 and 2010, although there were still a total of 123,000 reported cases during that period. The Committee remains concerned at the clear incompatibility between certain aspects of Ghana's customary law and traditional practices and the respect for fundamental rights and liberties, including the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In this regard, the Committee is concerned at reports that some women have been accused of practicing witchcraft, and subjected to severe violence, including mob violence, burning and lynching, and forced to leave their communities. Many such women have been sent to so-called "witch camps" through a system that lacks minimal due legal process, and from which the possibility of returning to society is uncertain. The Committee also expresses concern about reports of cases of violence against widows who are often deprived of their inheritance and, in some cases, subjected to humiliating and abusive widowhood rites. The Committee regrets the lack of information on prosecutions and sentences imposed on perpetrators of such acts, as well as on assistance and compensation to the victims. It also regrets the lack of information on the steps taken to ensure that customary law in Ghana is not incompatible with the State party's obligations under the Convention (arts. 2 and 16). (Paragraph 23). The State party should: (a) Strengthen its efforts to prevent and combat harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation, in particular in rural areas, and ensure that such acts are investigated and that the alleged perpetrators are prosecuted and convicted; (b) Provide victims with legal, medical, psychological and rehabilitative services, as well as compensation, and create adequate conditions for them to report complaints without fear of reprisal; (c) Provide training to judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and community leaders on the strict application of the relevant legislation criminalizing harmful traditional practices, and other forms of violence against women. Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Ertürk A/HRC/7/6/Add.3 21 February 2008 Forced marriage: In some cases, particularly in the three northern regions, young women and girls are exchanged between families to offset dowry payments. Almost by definition, this practice involves a forced marriage for both the bride and the groom; therefore, from the start, seeds of conflict and potential violence are sown into the matrimonial union. (Paragraph 20). Early marriage: The Children’s Act of 1998 sets 18 as the minimum age for marriage and criminalizes child marriages. However, child and early marriages continue to be performed, because the law is not adequately enforced. This compromises girls’ development and undermines their ability to negotiate unequal power relations to their advantage. Girls married at younger ages are more likely to drop out of school, are socially more isolated and less assertive in pursuing their sexual, reproductive and other rights. According to the 2006 MICS Survey, more than one in four married women (25.9 per cent) were under 18 when they married and 4.4 per cent were under 15. The same survey showed that 2.1 per cent of married women aged 15-19 years (i.e. the age group that should have enjoyed the protection of the 1998 Act) entered into marriage before they were 15. Since these marriages are unregistered, the women also lack access to non-penal forms of legal redress. (Paragraph 22). Child marriage, early marriage and teenage pregnancy also contribute to high dropout rates among girls. Girls who become pregnant are often ridiculed by their peers and shamed into dropping out. Some districts also seem to have adopted a policy to suspend pregnant girls from schools to deter pregnancy among other girls. Officials at the central Government level assured me that the suspension of pregnant girls, which constitutes a blatant violation of their human right to education, is contrary to official education policy. (Paragraph 28). Harmful traditional practices: A practice known as tazaba (direct translation: sister in bed) is reportedly still practised in some communities in Bongo District, Upper East Region. A daughter of a man without any sons is given to a paternal cousin to produce a male heir for the family name. The girl does not marry her cousin (who may already have a wife) and any son born from that relationship is considered to belong to the family of the girl’s father. After giving birth to a son, the girl is freed and may get married, but due to the stigma of single motherhood it is unlikely that she will find a husband.2 (Paragraph 41). FGM: Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been traditionally practised by several ethnic groups from northern Ghana. Victims can also be found among immigrants from neighbouring countries, where FGM is highly prevalent. UNICEF has estimated that 5.4 per cent of all women in Ghana aged 15-49 have been subjected to FGM.28 (Paragraph 51) Universal Periodic Review - 2012 A - 125.31. Ensure that effective and prompt investigations are carried out into all allegations of domestic violence and female genital mutilation, and that those responsible are brought to justice (Norway); A - 125.32. Continue its efforts in the field of women’s rights in order to, amongst other things, enforce the 2007 Domestic Violence Act and laws prohibiting harmful practices against women, including trokosi and female genital mutilation (Brazil); and provide accommodation services for girls deprived of access to education (Turkey); A - 125.33. Take steps to fully implement the 2007 Domestic Violence Act, inter alia by ensuring that effective and prompt investigations are carried out for any allegations of domestic violence and female genital mutilation, and that those responsible are brought to justice (Canada); A - 125.34. Continue to fight against female genital mutilation (Italy); A - 125.35. Continue efforts to fight against female genital mutilation (Senegal); A - 125.36. Step up efforts to fight female genital mutilation (Uganda); A - 125.37. Effectively prevent and prosecute female genital mutilation (Germany); A - 125.38. Adopt all measures, as a matter of priority, to eliminate female genital mutilation (Greece); A - 125.39. Establish awareness campaigns on the prohibition of harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation and Trokosi (Switzerland); A - 125.40. Intensify measures to prevent and combat harmful traditional practices, including A - 125.43. Exert all efforts to ensure traditional practices are compatible with human rights obligations, including female genital mutilation, through enhancing the enforceability of relevant laws in a proper way (Republic of Korea); ----------------------------------- Juvenile Justice: limited number of remand homes and poor conditions Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2006 73. While recognizing the efforts made in this domain, including the adoption of the Juvenile Justice Act of 2003 and the increase of the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 7 to 12 years, the Committee remains concerned about the limited progress achieved in establishing a functioning juvenile justice system throughout the country. In particular, the Committee is concerned about the limited number of remand homes and the poor conditions of such institutions. It is further concerned about information that some persons below the age of 18 years were detained in adult prisons. 74. The Committee urges the State party to ensure the full implementation of juvenile justice standards, in particular article 37 (b), articles 40 and 39 of the Convention as well as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules) and the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines), and in light of the Committee’s day of general discussion on the administration of juvenile justice. In particular, the State party should: (a) Ensure that deprivation of liberty is used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time; (b) In cases where deprivation of liberty is unavoidable and used as a last resort improve conditions of detention and ensure that persons below 18 years are detained in separate facilities from those of adults; (c) Ensure that persons below 18 years have access to appropriate legal aid and defence and an independent, child-sensitive and effective complaint mechanism; (d) Provide training on relevant international standards to those responsible for administrating the juvenile justice system; (e) Ensure both sentenced and released persons below 18 years are provided with educational opportunities, including vocational and life-skills training, recovery and social reintegration services; and (f) Seek technical cooperation and assistance from, inter alia, OHCHR, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Prevention and UNICEF. UN Committee against Torture (CAT/C/GHA/1) Last reported: 16 / 17 May 2011 Conditions of detention: [........] The Committee also expresses concern at reports about the limited number of remand homes for juvenile offenders, and the poor conditions in such institutions. The Committee takes positive note of the marked decrease in the number of deaths in prison (from 118 in 2008 to 55 in 2010), but regrets the lack of information on the causes of these deaths. It also regrets the lack of information on the conditions of detention for migrants with irregular administrative status (art. 11). (Paragraph 16). The State party should: (c) Continue to put into effect plans to improve and expand the prison infrastructure and the remand centres, including those for juvenile offenders; Universal Periodic Review - 2012 A - 124.7. Ensure the separation of juveniles and adults in prison cells, through, inter alia, establishing juvenile detention centres (Namibia); ----------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2006 69. The Committee welcomes the enactment of the Human Trafficking Act in 2005 and the information provided by the delegation that Ghana has entered into bilateral and multilateral agreements of cooperation with the neighbouring countries in the subregion to deal with cross‑border trafficking. However, the Committee expresses its concern at the lack of data on the number of children trafficked. 70. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Effectively implement the Human Trafficking Act, including by allocating appropriate financial and human resources and by raising awareness campaigns; (b) Provide adequate programmes of assistance, recovery and reintegration for trafficked children, who should be treated as victims and neither criminalized nor penalized; and (c) Consider ratifying the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime 2000. UN Committee against Torture (CAT/C/GHA/1) Last reported: 16 / 17 May 2011 Trafficking: The Committee takes note of the adoption in 2005 of the Human Trafficking Act, and its 2009 amendment, which brought the definition of trafficking in line with the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. However, the Committee expresses its concern at persistent reports of internal and cross-border trafficking of women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labour as, for example, domestic workers or head-load carriers (kayaye). The Committee is also concerned at the lack of statistics in the State party's report on, inter alia, the number of prosecutions, convictions and sentences of perpetrators of trafficking, including for child labour, and the absence of practical measures taken to prevent and combat this phenomenon. It also notes with concern that there is no formal referral process to transfer victims in protective custody to other facilities (arts. 2, 12 and 16). (Paragraph 21). The State party should: (a) Intensify its efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings, especially women and children, including by implementing the anti-trafficking legislation, providing protection for victims and ensuring their access to medical, social, rehabilitative and legal services, including counselling, as appropriate; (b) Ensure adequate conditions for victims to exercise their rights to make complaints; (c) Conduct prompt, impartial investigations of trafficking and ensure that those who are found guilty for such crimes are punished with penalties appropriate to the nature of their crimes; (d) Conduct nation-wide awareness-raising campaigns and conduct training for law enforcement officials; (e) Provide detailed information on the number of investigations and complaints of human trafficking, as well as prosecutions and convictions in such cases. Universal Periodic Review - 2012 A - 125.48. Enhance the prevention of and combat trafficking in human beings, including internal and cross-border trafficking of women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labour, by inter alia implementing anti-trafficking legislation, protecting victims and offering necessary help and assistance (Poland); A - 125.49. Take all necessary measures for the prevention and combating of child trafficking, and for the provision of effective remedies for victims (Republic of Korea); ----------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2006 36 While noting the State party’s steps to prohibit the use of corporal punishment in educational settings, and in particular through prohibitions outlined in the Teacher’s Hand Book, corporal punishment is still widely practised in society and its acceptance as a form of discipline gives cause for serious concern. The Committee is concerned that the Children’s Act allows for a degree of “reasonable” and “justifiable” punishment. 37.The Committee recommends that the State party should, taking into account its general comment No. 1 on the aims of education (CRC/GC/2001/1) and its recommendations, adopted on the day of general discussion on violence against children within the family and in schools (see CRC/C/111): (a) Explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in the family, schools, and other institutional settings and alternative care systems as a matter of priority; (b) Sensitize and educate parents, guardians and professionals working with and for children by carrying out public educational campaigns with the involvement of children about the harmful impact of violent forms of “discipline” and by promoting positive, non‑violent forms of discipline and respect of child rights. UN Committee against Torture (CAT/C/GHA/1) Last reported: 16 / 17 May 2011 While noting that the Juvenile Justice Act (2003) and the Children's Act (1988) explicitly prohibit corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in prisons, the Committee expresses its concern at the still widespread use of corporal punishment, in particular within the family, schools and alternative care settings (arts. 11 and 16). (Paragraph 24). The State party should: (a) Explicitly prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, including through the repeal of all legal defences for 'reasonable' and 'justifiable' corporal punishment; (b) Engage in the promotion of alternative forms of discipline to be administered in a manner consistent with the child's dignity, and in conformity with the Convention; (c) Develop measures to raise awareness on the harmful effects of corporal punishment. Universal Periodic Review - 2012 A - 123.20. Explicitly prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home (Austria); A - 125.50. Prohibit all forms of corporal punishment of children and ratify the three Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Portugal); ------------------------------------------------- Gender and geographical disparities in access to education Committee on the Rights of the Child - 2006 59. The Committee acknowledges the remarkable improvement made in the field of education in attempting to pursue the policy of the free compulsory and universal education system by introducing, inter alia the Capitation Grant. The Committee also notes the introduction of school feeding programmes in three regions of northern Ghana. However, the Committee is concerned about the persisting gender and geographical disparities with regard to access to and quality of education. 60. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Increase and efficiently use public expenditure in education; (b) Improve access to vocational training and informal education for vulnerable groups, including street children, orphans, children with disabilities and child workers; (c) Increase enrolment in primary and secondary education and reduce social‑economic, regional and gender disparities in the access and full enjoyment of the right to education; and (d) Extend the school feeding programme to other regions. UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CERD/C/62/CO/4 Last reported: 17 / 18 March 2003 Concluding Observations issued: 2 June 2003 Education and minority groups: The Committee is concerned about the existing educational gap between populations of certain geographic areas of the country, which has an ethnic dimension. The Committee encourages the Ghanaian authorities to pursue and increase the efforts already undertaken to remedy this situation. It would like to receive, in the next periodic report, information on the results of the Northern Scholarship Scheme, as well as on the criteria for selecting the beneficiaries. (Paragraph 12). UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/GHA/3-5) Last reported: 9 August 2006 Concluding Observations issued: 25 August 2006 Education: While welcoming the State party's important achievements in the field of education, especially at the primary level, the Committee is concerned about the gender gap between boys and girls in secondary and tertiary education where girls constitute, respectively, 33 per cent and 22 per cent of enrolled students, as well as about the high drop-out rates of girls from schools. (Paragraph 27). The Committee urges the State party to continue its efforts to raise awareness of the importance of education as a human right and as a basis for empowerment of women. It encourages the State party to take steps to overcome traditional attitudes that constitute obstacles to girls' education. It recommends that the State party implement measures to ensure equal rights of girls and young women to all levels of education, to retain girls in school, and to put in place monitoring mechanisms to track girls' access to, and achievement levels in education, including the adoption of temporary special measures in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1 of the Convention and general recommendation No. 25 on temporary special measures. It requests the State party to report on the measures taken and their impact in its next periodic report Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Ertürk Education: Ghana still has a considerable way to go to fulfil the second and third Millennium Development Goals, which call for the achievement of universal primary education and gender equality, including at all levels of education. In 2005, the net enrolment in primary education stood at only 65 per cent for boys and girls alike. A wide gender gap emerges from the early stages of the schooling cycle, because far more girls than boys drop out of primary school. In 2005, only 69 per cent of girls who enrolled completed the full course of primary education (compared to 75 per cent of boys). The trend continues in secondary school, where the 2005 net enrolment rate was 37 per cent for boys and 30 per cent for girls. (Paragraph 23). Education: Girls Growth and Development (GIGDEV) in Tamale is a civil society organization that helps former kayaye integrate back into society, by providing them with vocational training and basic education. Fatima, 18 years old, is one of the girls taking part in GIGDEV’s programme. She told me that she had to live with her aunt after her mother and grandmother had died, because her father was unwilling to take responsibility for her. The aunt exploited and abused Fatima, and at the age of 10 she migrated to Accra to work as a kayaye in the Agbogboloshie wholesale market. When she was 14, her boyfriend, a fellow street boy, raped her and she became pregnant. She gave birth and returned to the north. Fatima is learning to sew at GIGDEV and wants to buy a sewing machine with a microcredit loan. (Paragraph 60). Universal Periodic Review - 2012 A - 125.78. Continue with its efforts in enhancing girls’ access to primary, secondary and tertiary education (Sri Lanka); A - 125.79. Make further efforts to increase girls’enrolment in school, as well as awareness-raising in society regarding the importance of girls’ education (Sudan); A - 125.80. Protect the rights of its most vulnerable children and ensure their full participation in education (Estonia); A - 125.81. Continue its efforts to increase the national net enrolment rate for compulsory and free basic education and to further improve the quality of education being received by Ghanaian children in school, in line with the observations made by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (Bulgaria); ----------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2006 65.The Committee is deeply concerned about the high number of children engaged in economic activities and that a high percentage of this group are involved in work that is hazardous, dangerous and jeopardizes their health, education and development. 66.The Committee urges the State party to strengthen the capacity of the institutions responsible for the control and protection of the rights of working children, including the Child Labour Unit and the Inspectorate Division Unit. It further recommends that the State party, with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF, and national and international NGOs, develop a comprehensive programme to prevent and combat child labour, in full compliance with ILO Convention No. 182 which the State party has ratified. The Committee also encourages the State party to ratify ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment. Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Ertürk Child labour: Ghanaian law sets the minimum age for formal and informal employment at 15, although children are permitted to engage in “light work” from the age of 13, provided that it does not harm their health or development, or school attendance and the capacity to benefit from schoolwork. Children under 18 are not allowed to undertake certain types of hazardous labour and are prohibited from working at night. Yet harmful child labour remains a problem. A 2004 International Labour Office (ILO) study estimated that about 11 per cent of school-age children in Ghana and 56.5 per cent of rural school-age children in northern Ghana are engaged in some form of labour.29 A World Bank paper on child labour in Ghana found that girls were more likely than boys to engage in harmful forms of labour.30 (Paragraph 54). Many rural families living in extreme poverty send their daughters to urban areas to live with more affluent families, where they serve as domestic workers in exchange for shelter, food and sometimes a minimal income. The ILO found that most child domestic workers started their work between the ages of 11 and 16 and worked 8 to 12 hours per day without sufficient rest, which would imply that they are engaged in one of the worst forms of child labour as defined by ILO Convention No. 182.31 (Paragraph 55). Girls also migrate on their own from impoverished areas in the north to the big urban centres in the south, where they work in the markets and streets as head load carriers (kayaye), informal petty traders or in other menial jobs. Most of the girls are only 10-14 years old when they first migrate and some are even younger. The girls, an estimated 90 per cent of whom are illiterate, typically migrate to escape extreme poverty and a lack of opportunities. Many girls also see the kayaye experience as an opportunity to acquire the items they will need in order to get married later on in life. (Paragraph 56). Universal Periodic Review - 2012 A - 125.52. Fully implement the Ghana Child Labour Monitoring System and link these efforts with programmes to promote remediation and ensure adequate resources for the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit for the pursuit of prosecutions (United States of America); A - 125.53. Implement more effectively the legal framework prohibiting child labour (Italy); A - 125.54. Take necessary measures that would reduce, at the first stage, the widespread use of child labour (Turkey); A - 125.55. Continue its combat against the use of child labour, especially in the mining industry and cocoa production, including implementation of measures on their rehabilitation, reintegration and education (Thailand); A - 125.56. Identify and implement best practices to combat child labour in violation of international standards in the fishing industry on Lake Volta (United States of America); ----------------------------------- Difficult in access to birth registration in rural areas and for refugees Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2006 32.Notwithstanding the remarkable progress achieved in improving birth registration coverage from 28 per cent in 2003 to 51 per cent in 2004, including through the extensive use of mobile registration units, the Committee remains concerned about the many challenges faced by the State party such as poor staffing, inadequate funding and lack of logistics. The Committee is further concerned about the difficulties in ensuring the birth registration of children, particularly in rural areas, and for abandoned children, asylum-seekers and refugee children. 33In light of article 7 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party implement an efficient birth registration system, which covers its territory fully, including through: (a) Strengthening its efforts in terms of financial allocations and improved institutional capacities; (b) Taking appropriate measures to register those who have not been registered at birth; (c) Strengthening the cooperation of the Births and Deaths Registry between the local government and community based institutions; (d) Increasing the appreciation of the importance of birth registration and providing information on the procedure of birth registration, including the rights and entitlements derived from the registration, to the public, including through television, radio and printed materials; and (e) Paying particular attention to the improved access to an early birth registration system by abandoned children, asylum-seekers and refugee children. Universal Periodic Review - 2012 A - 125.60. Intensify its efforts to address the problem of birth registration since lack of birth registration makes children born in poor families vulnerable to other human rights violations, including human trafficking (Botswana); A - 125.61. Continue the efforts to improve the birth registration figures, having in mind that considerable improvement has already been achieved, as birth registration increased from around 30 per cent in 2000 to over 60 per cent in 2010 (Brazil); ----------------------------------- Infant mortality as result of preventable causes Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2006 49.The Committee is concerned about the high infant and under-five mortality rates, mostly from preventable causes such as inadequate drinking water and sanitation. While taking note of the “Roll back malaria” programme, the Committee is still concerned about the high incidence of malaria as well as the high number of malnourished, severely stunted and underweight children. It is also concerned about regional disparities in the provision of health services, and sanitation facilities. 50.The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Undertake all necessary measures to reduce mortality rates by improving prenatal care and preventing communicable diseases; (b) Allocate more financial resources to child health, nutrition and access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities; (c) Continue to combat malaria and address environmental causes and strengthen availability of nets and insecticides, especially in areas where malaria is most prevalent and ensure that all children, regardless of economic status, have access to impregnated nets; (d) Enforce the Salt Iodation’s Law (Act 523); and (e) Continue to encourage exclusive breastfeeding for six months with appropriate introduction of an infant diet thereafter. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/GHA/3-5) Last reported: 9 August 2006 Health: [.........] The Committee is also concerned about the steady increase in the number of HIV/AIDS infected women and girls. (Paragraph 31). [........] It also calls on the State party to ensure that its Reproductive Health Policy addresses adolescent health, and that its National HIV/AIDS/STDs policy is effectively implemented. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover ACCRA (30 May 2011) Regarding maternal mortality, Mr. Grover noted that the issue has been declared a national emergency and that the authorities have taken steps to address maternal deaths, such as MDG Acceleration Framework. However, he stressed that “further concerted effort is needed to effectively address this serious human rights issue.” In his view, a country must have a range of mechanisms for monitoring, accountability, and to redress maternal mortality.
Concluding Observations issued: 2 June 2003
Concluding Observations issued: 15 June 2011
female genital mutilation, which occur especially in rural areas, and to investigate such acts in order to prosecute and punish the perpetrators (Uruguay);
Concluding Observations issued: 15 June 2011
Concluding Observations issued: 15 June 2011
Concluding Observations issued: 15 June 2011
21 February 2008
21 February 2008
Concluding Observations issued: 25 August 2006