J Initiative Calls for the Review of Ghana’s Laws to Protect Children Online

Executive Director of the J Initiative, Mrs Awo Aidam Amenyah being interviewed at the forum

Accra, Ghana, August 19, 2018//-J Initiative, a child and family focused organisation in Ghana has called for the need to review and enhance the country’s laws to reflect readiness to protect children online in an increased globalization and ICT revolution era.

The Executive Director of J Initiative, Madam Aidam Amenyah made the call at a two-day stakeholders workshop aimed at amending Ghana’s child related legislations.

She outlined some treaties Ghana must ratify in order to enhance the country’s existing laws; key among them are the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and the Convention on the protection of children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual abuse-(Lanzarote Convention).

Stakeholders have begun a dialogue on position papers on the amendment of child related legislations. The dialogue has looked at three key child related issues including Child Online Protection (COP).

The two-day dialogue was led by the Department of Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection , with support from UNICEF Ghana and Canada Fund, aimed at amending Child Related Legislations in the country.

Speaking at the dialogue, outgoing Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba noted that the dialogue offered the stakeholders a great opportunity to review emerging issues for the protection of children in all spaces (physical & virtual ) at the home, the school, communities and institutions.

“Every effort put in the dialogue will help strengthen our legislation for the protection, safety and development of our children today and for the future”, she added.

Presenting the position paper for Child Online Protection , Madam Amenyah said bodies like the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Expert Group on COP, and WeProtect have all attested to the importance of multi-stakeholder approach to Child Online Protection.

She added: “It is the right of the child to use the digital space to learn, play, interact , among all other profitable uses: our responsibility as adults is to guarantee their safety and security in that imaginary environment”.

Madam Amenyah continued: “Therefore if that environment is hurting them, we do not need to throw our arms in despair rather we must see to it that appropriate measures are put in place for them per acceptable standards”.

“Considering the blurred lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres now: children’s access to the Internet has become a complex policy area. And this complexity demands an approach to policy which is inclusive, expertise driven and the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders. ”

African Eye Report

 

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