Galamsey Is Depriving Students of Safe Water- CHRAJ Warns
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has issued a stark warning that illegal mining has escalated from an environmental crisis into a severe violation of children’s developmental rights across Ghana.
In a statement marking the 2026 Day of the African Child, the Commission emphasised that the ongoing destruction of vital water bodies directly undermines the state’s constitutional obligation to guarantee safe water, health, and basic education for its youngest citizens.
While the Day of the African Child traditionally honours the historic 1976 Soweto uprising where South African students stood against educational injustice, the Commission used this year’s focus on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene to spotlight modern, structural barriers facing Ghanaian children.
The Commission noted that water pollution driven by illegal mining has crippled the daily lives of students, creating hazardous learning conditions that fall heaviest on girls, children with disabilities, and those in rural communities.
Protecting water bodies, according to the human rights body, is no longer just an environmental obligation but has become an absolute child rights imperative.
This environmental degradation severely worsens an already critical infrastructure deficit in the country.
Citing data from Ghana’s Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, the Commission revealed that a staggering 74.7% of households lack access to basic toilets, while open defecation continues to persist across many communities.
When combined with global data from UNICEF and the WHO showing that 802 million schoolchildren lack basic handwashing facilities, the Commission warned that these deficits continually expose Ghanaian children to preventable diseases, high absenteeism, and social stigma.
The Commission acknowledged recent government interventions to tackle illegal mining, including the Blue Water Initiative, the deployment of Blue Water Guards, enhanced inter-agency enforcement, and land reclamation.
However, it insisted that these measures must be strictly sustained, aggressively enforced, and matched by transparent public accountability rather than treated as short-term exercises.
The Commission reminded the government, traditional authorities, and civil society that intensifying efforts to safeguard water bodies and expand child-friendly sanitation in schools is a binding legal mandate under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Children’s Act of 1998, and the 1992 Constitution.
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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