100 Children Missing At Kokrobite

The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has revealed that about a hundred (100) children disappear annually from Kokrobite, a coastal village near Accra. Its believed that the children are either abducted or sold out by their biological parents or acquaintances.

According to CHRAJ, some of the children are sold into slavery or trafficked for menial labor whilst a majority of them are used as debt relieves and given out to engage in sex trade. This information was disclosed at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday. The Commissioner of CHRAJ, who read the report, called for the urgent and rigid enforcement of the laws that protect the rights of children in order to advance the rights of all children in the country. The Commissioner expressed grave concern about the continuing gender in-equalities in the Ghanaian society and the fact that women are under-represented in decision-making positions even though they constitute 51 per cent of the Ghanaian population.

CHRAJ's report bemoaned the fact that women in Ghana are confronted with socio-cultural and attitudinal barriers that impede their advancement and their equitable participation in national development. It added that domestic violence against women and children including rape, defilement and wife battering, remains a significant problem. The Commission implored all victims of domestic violence to speak out and report such violence to Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of the Police Service and the office of the commission for appropriate action to be taken on the perpetrators of such violence.

It noted that domestic violence against women constitutes a serious violation of the dignity of women, the right to personal security and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex. The commission suggested that developing ways to prevent violence against women must be seen as one of the key strategies in accelerating Ghana's development since women contribute a lot to the socio-economic development of the country.

CHRAJ called for the sensitization of the public about the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, adding that, it is a well-known fact that respect for human rights is critical to the prevention and successful treatment of the deadly disease. It observed that violation of the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS increases the negative impact of the menace. This is because, instead of worrying about the treatment of the disease, patients will also have to worry about the further loss of rights due to their HIV status. "It therefore behooves us to collectively intensify public education against this looming development crisis", the Commissioner advised.

Meanwhile the UN Secretary-General has issued a statement on the Human Rights Day Celebration 2002, which fell on Tuesday. H.E. Kofi Annan used the opportunity to appeal to all Governments, communities and individuals to recommit themselves to the universal application of the rule of law and respect for human rights.