ABSTRACT
Migration has become a phenomenon that affects the lives of many people today. Children are affected as well in diverse ways by migration. Most countries lack comprehensive policies on migration which can harness its gains for mutual benefits and reduce its negative impacts.
Meanwhile, migration has become a major process in many populations, including Ghana’s. Children have also been participating in migration in various ways; as independent migrants, as moving along with migrating parents or other adults and as left behind by their migrant parents.
It is against the background that migration laws and other instruments do not often have perspectives of children considered that the present study examined how existing laws in Ghana related to migration have concerns, if any of children.
Ghana was the first country to have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), yet there are serious situations that threaten their rights and wellbeing such as the negative effects of migration that are probably not addressed with policies or legal instruments. Other situations of migration also make them vulnerable to separation from families, exploitation and abuse.
Meanwhile, the Millennium Summit of the UN held in 2000 adopted eight goals popularly known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and most target children.
The present study examined the following laws (legal instruments), The Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573), The Citizenship Act, 2000 (Act 591), The Refugee Law, 1992 (PNDCL 305D) and The Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694), and the finding show that it is The Human Trafficking Act, 2005 that explicitly mentions children and their concerns.
The study argues that it is important that migration laws and policies have concerns of children considered. Children should be specifically mentioned in them and their needs adequately provided.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Migration is a movement involving a change in one’s abode or residence from one geographical area to another (Weeks, 2002; UN, 1958, in UN 1973; GSS (GLSS), 2008). Though migration involves movements, there is no migration when there has not been a movement, but not every movement can be classified as migration.
Migration has received increasing attention from researchers and policy makers in recent times, and some countries have developed laws and regulations to control or manage migration into their boarders or out into other countries, that is international migration. Internal migration, which is within the borders of a country, attracts relatively less management in many countries. Children have also been migrating, sometimes independently.
In Ghana, there is no centralized information management system that gives a comprehensive tracking of progress of events leading to the fulfilling of children’s rights and protection from violence and exploitation. This is because there are a number of agencies responsible for children and is associated with various aspects of child protection, like the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC), the Child Labour Unit of the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment (MMYE), the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU of the Ghana Police Service), Ministries of Health and Education, Department of Social Welfare, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and a Multi-Sectoral Committee on Child Protection among others (Jones, Ahadzie and Doh, 2009,
MOWAC/UNICEF, 2009). These Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) play various roles in diverse ways to ensure wellbeing of children. MOWAC has the responsibility to coordinate groups that work to combat human trafficking in addition to monitoring and evaluating effects of migration on women and children (Manuh et al, 2010).
However, there are comprehensive and extensive legislations and administrative framework for child protection. Some of the local legislations include the Children’s Act (1998), the Domestic Violence Act (2007), the Human Trafficking Act (2005), which directly deals with trafficking of people (including children) within and outside Ghana, the Juvenile Justice Act (2003), and the Registration of Birth and Death Act (1965). The other laws cover other issues of children and are applicable to both those in mobility and those who are not. There are also international instruments that aim at child protection, like the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). Despite these, violations continue to occur due to weak enforcement/implementation of the laws, parental poverty and harmful traditional practices (Jones, Ahadzie and Doh, 2009, MOWAC/UNICEF, 2009).
Jones, Ahadzie and Doh, (2009) have highlighted some serious weaknesses that can be identified from the legislations. They include no clearness in the terms of mandates, roles and responsibilities between some of the agencies that work on child protection and also poor coordination among the agencies. There is also the problem of limited staff capacity to engage in policy analysis, data collection and analysis and monitoring and evaluation. Another setback is the issue of inadequate funds and the lack of linkages between government agencies and NGO’s that work in the area of child protection.
Problem Statement
There seems to be no explicit mention of children on discussions on migration laws and policies except regarding child trafficking which is an aspect of child migration. Migration affects children in various ways, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Innocenti Research Center has noted ways by which migration affects children:-
experience has shown that children are affected by migration in different ways: children are left behind by migrant parents; they are brought along with their migrating parents; and they migrate alone, independently of parents and adult guardians. Other children do not move, but are nevertheless affected because they live in communities that send or receive migrants. Some children are return migrants or have been repatriated (Innocenti Research Center, 2009).
The above observation also denotes ways by which children participate in migration.
Whitehead and Hashim (2005) also made similar observations about how migration affects children when they stated that they (children) can be left behind, when one or both parents migrate; or are with families that have migrated. They also noted that they sometimes migrate themselves independently of their families.
These therefore give the categories of children in the context of migration as independent child migrants, children at the destination of migration accompanied by parents or guardians, children left behind by their migrant parent(s) and lastly, not moving but are affected by migrant parents and other relatives.
Migration influences the life of children in whatever category they may belong to in migration because they depend on adults for various needs, including protection. Children are generally
seen as immature and unable to avoid risky behavior by the judgments they make. Society therefore has an obligation to protect and guide them from any form of danger until they have the ability to protect themselves. The protection of children covers various aspects of their lives, including their dignity, human rights as well as well-being (MOWAC/UNICEF, 2009). Children are normally protected through laws and policies as well as societal norms and practices.
Meanwhile, children migrate independently on their own as active decision makers, or accompany other adult migrants, or are left behind by migrating parents. Increasingly, children actively participate in the migratory process independently in recent times.
