News:
April 25, 2025
The Minority caucus on the Gender, Children and Social Welfare Committee of Parliament expresses profound sorrow and dismay at the recent killing of a woman and her four children by unknown gunmen in Benguri, a suburb in the Binduri District in the Upper East Region.
This tragic incident, reportedly linked to the protracted Bawku conflict underscores the devastating spillover effects of the violence on surrounding communities.
In a statement the Caucus extends its condolences to the bereaved family and the affected community and stands in solidarity with all those who continue to suffer the consequences of the protracted Bawku conflict and its spillover into surrounding communities.
The Minority unequivocally condemns this heinous act, which constitutes not only a gross violation of the rights to life, safety, and dignity, but also a direct assault on women and children—the most vulnerable members of our society. The intentional targeting and murder of a mother and her children reflect a deepening crisis of insecurity and a grave breakdown of law and order in parts of the Upper East Region.
Most disturbing is the continued failure of the Government to exercise its constitutional mandate to protect lives and maintain peace in these conflict-prone areas. This attack is not an isolated occurrence; it is the latest in a disturbing pattern of unchecked violence that has gone unaddressed by the Government.
The Government’s persistent inaction and the absence of comprehensive and gender-responsive security response strategy constitute a serious infraction of its obligations to safeguard the rights of vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.
Also this failure flies in the face of Ghana’s commitments under international frameworks such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (GHANAP II).
Minority Caucus notes with concern that, despite ample evidence of the deteriorating security situation in Bawku and its environs, the Government has failed to intervene decisively to de-escalate the conflict, provide adequate protection to civilians, particularly women and children, and initiate targeted support mechanisms for victims and displaced families.
Hence the Minority Caucus on the Gender, Children and Social Welfare Committee, therefore demand:
(i) The deployment of specialized protection units trained in civilian and child protection, particularly in conflict-prone areas.
(ii) The establishment of a humanitarian relief framework to support women and children affected by the ongoing violence.
And is the duty of the Government to act not with platitudes, but with urgency, intentionality, and sustained commitment to safeguarding human lives. The lives lost in Binduri are a painful reminder of what happens when leadership fails in its most basic responsibility of protecting its people.
Ghanamps.com