Ghanaian minister calls for stronger protection of children in armed conflicts
Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, called for stronger state mechanisms and cooperation between institutions to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts. She made the statement in Accra at the opening of the first two-day meeting of a multi-stakeholder working group on implementing the Vancouver Principles, MyJoyOnline reports.
The meeting was organized by Ghana’s National Peace Council and the Dallaire Institute. Participants are to review and approve the working group’s terms of reference, establish a governance structure, elect leaders and determine the next steps for preparing a national strategy to implement the Vancouver Principles.
Early prevention
Agyeman-Rawlings, who was elected chair of the working group, said that protecting children should not be limited to responding to the consequences of conflict. According to her, vulnerabilities must be identified in advance, early warning systems strengthened, institutional capacity expanded, and child protection incorporated into security policy, training, planning and operations.
She noted that Ghana has maintained relative peace since returning to democratic rule more than three decades ago, but urged against complacency. According to her, the country is located in a region facing violent extremism, terrorism, organized crime and political instability. Conflicts in parts of the Sahel, in her assessment, may affect other areas through population movements, human trafficking, exploitation and increased vulnerability of young people to recruitment.
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National strategy
The working group includes representatives of the National Peace Council, the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, security institutions, ministries, departments and agencies, parliament, academic institutions, civil society, development partners and international organizations.
The Vancouver Principles were launched by Canada in 2017. They contain 17 political commitments on protecting children in UN peacekeeping operations and preventing their recruitment or use by armed forces and armed groups. As of 2025, the principles had been endorsed by about 107 states, including Ghana.
George Amoah, Executive Secretary of the National Peace Council, said the initiative should connect early warning signals at the community level with national policy and strategic action. Arsen Mukendi Tshidimu, director of the Dallaire Institute’s Vancouver Principles in Sub-Saharan Africa project, added that child protection should also be regarded as an issue of peacebuilding, security, governance and development.
