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The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has emphasized that under the Child Act, any form of child betrothal is considered a criminal offence.
According to Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mercy Larbi, citing the 1992 Constitution, the betrothal of children to either deities or individuals is still classified as a crime.
During an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on April 3, she reiterated this stance. “When you look at early marriages and forced marriages, the Children’s Act has criminalised them. Early marriages too is in there and it goes on even to say betrothal is even a criminal offence.
“So, betrothal in any kind or form [is criminal]. We are not looking at whether it is the human being or the deity. The law says betrothal in any kind or form.”
Her comments follow news of a 12-year-old girl and a 63-year-old priest in Nungua getting married.
Local authorities, however, have denied the claims of her marriage, claiming that she was genuinely engaged to the Gborbu deity.
Remarkably, the Commission was quite concerned about violations of children’s rights in 2023—of the 10,525 cases that were reported, 3,509 included minors.
As per a report, there are several ways in which children’s rights are violated. These include but are not limited to, failing to meet the child’s basic needs like food, education, clothing, shelter, and health care; depriving the child of their right to paternity and custody; subjecting them to cruel treatment; forcing and early marriages; and failing to formally name them.
“We have a lot of complaints about non-maintenance. That is the right to maintenance and life necessities.
“We also have complaints in respect of the right to health and the right to education. Right to be named, and then we have early and forced marriages, child trafficking, child labour, etc,” she said.
Touching on child marriages she said, “When you look at our statistics in 2023 we received about 25 complaints on early and forced marriages. So, there are two issues that we are looking at; early marriages and forced marriages.”
She explained that after each complaint, an investigation is launched and decisions and recommendations are made.
NKONKONSA.com
