Paper long abstract:

In many ways the CRC is a 'first' in the history of the United Nations. Not only because it is the world's most widely and rapidly ratified international convention, but also because it was the first to articulate the participatory rights of children. Although this has led to the development of innovative initiatives protecting children's rights, it has also caused considerable controversy in many countries.

In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, children's participation has met with formidable obstacles despite the almost universal ratification of the Convention. Adults, social and political structures, culture and socio-economic factors are all frequently cited as the main barriers to child participation. These barriers are especially important on a continent where children under the age of 15 constitute nearly half of its 500 million inhabitants. Furthermore, at the same time as the proportion of young people is increasing rapidly, so also are the challenges affecting them. Across the continent children are being used in conflicts, engaged in coercive labour or living on the streets vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation and HIV/AIDS. It is impossible to separate these challenges facing children from their subordinate position in society. That children are the victims of such abuses is arguably indicative of their vulnerable position in relation to adults. As long as children remain invisible and muted, such abuses will persist and governments across the continent will be able to continue denying the existence of these problems.

The question then becomes: how can the obstacles confronting children's participation in community life be overcome? Or put differently, what factors would create an enabling environment for children's participation in Africa? This paper will focus on Ghana, the first country to ratify the Convention and one of the few African countries to introduce a Children's Act into its legislative framework. Issues examined will include attitudes towards children in society, the current context for children's participation and the strategies that need to be established in order to create an enabling environment for children's participation in Ghana. The views of both children and adults, collected during the researcher's fieldwork in Ghana between May 2005 and February 2006, will form the basis of the discussion on the above issues. In order to highlight the knowledge of children and the contributions they can make to the problems affecting them and their communities, the presentation will conclude by presenting the views of different groups of children, especially those who find themselves at the margins of society, on the challenges facing them and their communities, as well as putting forward their very own recommendations for tackling these challenges.