Hon Helen Adjoa Ntoso
Krachi West

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make this Statement in commemoration of this year’s World Children’s Day.
Mr Speaker, World Children’s Day is not just another date on our calendar. It is a global day set aside to emphasise the importance of promoting children’s rights and welfare in accordance with the “Convention of the Rights of the Child”, which underscores the global commitment to protecting children’s rights.
Mr Speaker, the treaty on the “Convention of the Rights of the Child” came into force on 2nd September, 1990 and remains one of the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. The theme for this year’s World Children’s Day is “My Day, My Rights”, focusing on amplifying children’s voices and ensuring that their rights are recognised and upheld. The theme reminds us that children are not only passive objects of care and policy, but active holders of rights, voices, dreams, and ideas.
Too often, Mr Speaker, children speak but they are not heard. They express concerns but are not taken seriously often. Yet, they are the truest mirrors of our society’s successes and failures. As leaders, parents, guardians, and stakeholders, it is imperative that we commit ourselves anew to creating a world where every child is safe, educated, healthy, valued, and given the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Mr Speaker, to listen to children means to invite them into conversations concerning their lives, be it education, safety, behavioural change, well-being, or the aspirations for the future. It calls for the creation of an environment where children are respected and protected and their rights supported in practice, not in words. As a nation, we have the responsibility to give our children safe homes and communities in which to grow without any form of anxiety.
Our schools need to remain valued as places that nurture talents and encourage our children’s dreams. We must give a fair chance to every child, particularly the most vulnerable, those with special needs, those living in disadvantaged rural and urban communities and those children living in poverty which is not by their making.
Mr Speaker, the World Children’s Day requires us to recommit ourselves to building a Ghana where no child is left behind. It calls on us to move beyond just symbolic gestures and take real and sustained action through consolidating child protection systems, investing in quality education, ensuring access to healthcare, ending harmful practices, and amplifying the voices of children in national decision-making. I associate myself with the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, who posited that “The greatness of any nation is measured not by its wealth or power but by how well it protects its children.” Let us rise to this responsibility with compassion, courage and undeterred dedication.
Let us listen to our children, not just today, but every day, and work continually to safeguard their rights, their well-being and their future. It is indeed a clarion call to action for all of us to help amplify the voices of our children and stand up for the rights of every child.
Mr Speaker, may we on this day join voices around the world to emphasise the importance of promoting children’s rights and welfare in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which underlies the global commitment to protecting children’s rights.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.

Hon Korkor Laurette Asante
Atiwa West

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement. I commend my senior Colleague for the Statement that she made.

Mr Speaker, the strength of a nation lies in how it guides and nurtures its youth. So today, we have to raise the awareness of protecting children, and also, it is not just a celebration of children, but it is also a reminder of our responsibilities as adults towards protecting the children's rights, protecting them from violence, protecting them from paedophilia and protecting them from incest. We also have to celebrate the creativity, the enthusiasm and the limitless potential in terms of the future of our children because they are the future of this country.

Mr Speaker, this is a chance to amplify the voices of children and allow them to express their concerns and share their ideas and their dreams. We should not suppress or stifle the children’s thoughts. We should be open to them and their concerns and should not just say that they are too young, because it is from what they say that we get to know their needs and how they will be shaping the future. What we can also do is to gather their thoughts in terms of their views and place them in a role, for instance, if they were members of Parliament or presidents for a day, what political priorities would they like to see? What would they like to do if they were presidents for a day? What would they like to see in their communities if they were members of Parliament for a day?

Mr Speaker, you would be very surprised what the children will say because that will actually shape what our political priorities should be. It will also instil in the children that one day, they could also become member of Parliament or presidents because they will definitely be in those roles in the future.
Mr Speaker, today is a day that reminds us that we must make the world a safer place for the children, protect them and not stifle their creativity and their enthusiasm. It also reminds us of our responsibilities towards children.

Thank you, Mr Speaker for the opportunity.