Child Rights International (CRI), a Non-Governmental Organisation, has strongly condemned the recent evacuation operation by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), describing it as a gross violation of child protection standards and a national emergency requiring urgent redress.

The operation, which occurred on May 16, 2025, saw the arrest of over 2,000 street beggars from key urban hotspots including Kaneshie, Abossey Okai, and Kwame Nkrumah Circle in the Greater Accra Region.

Alarmingly, CRI revealed that nearly 60 per cent of those arrested were children, many of whom are believed to be foreign nationals.

In a press statement delivered by CRI’s Executive Director, Bright Kweku Appiah, the organisation decried the treatment of children as immigration offenders, stressing that while street begging remains a pressing societal issue, it must be tackled with a child-centred, rights-based approach.

“This is not just a policy failure—it’s a national emergency.

Children in vulnerable conditions deserve protection, not criminalisation,” Appiah said.

CRI called on the government to implement sustainable and humane solutions that prioritise the welfare of affected children.

The group recommended comprehensive bio-data registration of minors, bilateral collaboration with countries of origin, tighter border surveillance, and the establishment of reintegration protocols tailored specifically for children.

Mr Appiah underscored the urgency of government intervention, warning that failure to act decisively would not only entrench social injustice but also compromise Ghana’s moral and economic integrity.

“Leaving children on the streets is not just a social injustice; it is an economic and moral failure.

Ghana must act now,” he concluded.

The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to advocate for vulnerable children and called for national dialogue on sustainable interventions to end child streetism in the country.