By Wisdom JONNY-NUEKPE
Of the 944 trafficking victims identified and reported by government last year, 821 were victims of labour trafficking while the rest were trafficked for sexual exploitation, according to the 2023 Ghana Trafficking in Persons Report.
Though government increased victim protection efforts per the report, the numbers still surged compared to identifying and referring 574 victims 2022.
The majority of identified victims – 505 – were children, with most identified victims, 616, being Ghanaians.
Of the 123 foreign national victims, most were Nigerians; others identified were from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Vietnam.
Per the report, the United States Department of States indicates Ghana does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so.
The Department recommends that the country continues increasing efforts to investigate and prosecute alleged traffickers – including complicit officials and fraudulent labour recruiters, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers which should involve significant prison terms.
According to the US Department of States, Ghana remained on Tier 2 of the ranking due to government’s demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period.
These efforts included increasing trafficking investigations, prosecutions and convictions, and identifying and referring more trafficking victims to services. Government provided trauma-informed training for judicial and law enforcement officials, and increased its coordination with civil society on protection and prevention efforts.
The Department also indicated that despite the progress, government did not meet minimum standards in several key areas.
For instance, government continued its 2017 ban on labour migration to Gulf States, which increases vulnerability to trafficking.
Despite reports of fraudulent labour recruiters exploiting Ghanaian victims abroad, government did not report holding any fraudulent recruiters accountable.
“Government did not adequately address complicity in trafficking crimes, and it did not amend the anti-trafficking act regulations to remove the option of a fine in lieu of imprisonment in cases where the trafficker was a parent or guardian of a child victim,” the report noted.
According to the report, efforts to screen vulnerable populations for trafficking indicators – such as labour migrants, asylum seekers and workers on People’s Republic of China (PRC) national-owned fishing vessels – remained inadequate.
The Department of State maintains that over the past five years, human traffickers exploited domestic and foreign victims in Ghana while traffickers exploited victims from Ghana abroad.
Traffickers exploit Ghanaian children in forced labour for inland and coastal fishing, domestic service, street hawking, begging, portering, artisanal gold mining, quarrying, herding and agriculture.
