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Plan Ghana, a child-centred civil society organization, has urged parents to encourage their children to develop their potentials, to enable them contribute more meaningfully to the nation’s socio-economic development.

Mr Joseph Assan, Plan Ghana’s Child Protection and Advocacy Specialist, said every child has a fundamental right to life, survival and development.

He said children should be assured the right to express their views freely,  and this should be given ‘due weight’ in accordance with their age and level of maturity.

He reminded children that rights go with responsibilities; hence, they must be responsible to their parents.

“Everybody has a responsibility to support the care and protection of children,” Mr Assan stated on Wednesday,  in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra.

He disclosed that  the organization had put measures in place to ensure that children were given the privilege to enjoy their freedom to expression about matters concerning their development.

He said Plan Ghana’s Child Protection Principles were informed by a set of principles that were derived from the United Nations Child Rights Convention.

Mr Assan said Plan Ghana’s programmes on Child Protection cover universal birth registration, child or forced marriages, anti-human trafficking, violence against children activities, community-based child protection systems and budget advocacy.

He said child abuse in all forms of physical abuse, emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation, neglect or negligent treatment and any action that results in actual or potential harm to a child.

Mr Assan observed that children are very vulnerable and therefore, need to be protected from all forms of abuses.

He said child abuse may be a deliberate act, or it may be failing to act to prevent harm to a child’s well-being, dignity and prospect of safe and healthy development in adulthood.

Mr Assan also appealed to the media to promote child rights and protection at all times.