Child Rights International (CRI) has urged authorities to be sensitive to the fundamental rights of children involved in the recent swoop by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to rid the streets of Accra of migrant beggars.
The CRI said the government must adopt a more “child-sensitive and coordinated approach” in dealing with the situation since it involved children and adults.
The operation, which took place on Friday, May 16, 2025, targeted major areas like Kaneshie, Abossey Okai, and Kwame Nkrumah Circle, and led to the “arrest” of over 2,000 individuals with more than 1,300 of them being children, many of whom are foreign nationals.
The Executive Director of CRI, Mr Bright Appiah, addressing the media in Accra yesterday said while it was “illegal and unsafe” for children to beg on the streets, any intervention involving children must uphold their rights and dignity, regardless of their nationality.
He expressed concern about the high number of children caught in the exercise and emphasized that the issue was not just one of “public order, but of child protection.”
He stressed that these children should not be treated as offenders but rather as vulnerable individuals in need of care and protection.
Mr Appiah referred to both international and local laws to support its position.
“The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which Ghana ratified in 1990, clearly outlines that children should not face discrimination and that their best interests must be a primary consideration in all matters affecting them,” he explained.
According to him, “Ghana’s Children’s Act further states that any child who is homeless, begging, or living in unsafe conditions is entitled to state protection.
Mr Appiah said the lack of coordination raises serious questions about how the children were being cared for after the operation and whether any proper procedures were in place for their reintegration or repatriation.
He mentioned the risk to Ghana’s international image and national security if such operations continued without a structured and humane approach.
The child right advocate warned that the presence of children on the streets was more than a moral failure, adding that it was a social and economic problem that drain public resources.
He said a 2015 government report estimated that child abuse alone costs Ghana up to GH¢1.44 billion annually.
The Executive Director urged the government to make long-term changes and recommended that authorities collect proper identification and bio-data of everyone involved in such operations to ensure no child was lost in the system.
He called for detailed case assessments to better understand each child’s background and needs.
This he said would help in tracing families and reuniting children with them safely.
“CRI wants the government to set clear and consistent procedures for handling foreign children found on the streets. These should include safe return protocols and legal cooperation with the countries of origin,” he said.
He said stronger border monitoring and immigration systems were also needed to prevent illegal entry and better protect vulnerable children from exploitation or trafficking.
Mr Appiah insisted that operations like the recent GIS swoop should not be repeated without proper planning and agency collaboration.
“We believe that if Ghana is to truly protect its children and meet its legal obligations, it must treat this issue as a national emergency and a rights-based and child-focused strategy is not just ideal — it is a necessity,” he said.
Mr Appiah called on all government agencies to work together to put the interests of every child first,” failure to act responsibly and urgently risks leaving hundreds of children on the streets, exposed to danger and stripped of hope.”
BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG
