According to the 2023 Ghana Trafficking in Persons Report, there were 944 trafficked victims identified and reported by government last year; and out of that number, 821 were victims of labour trafficking while the rest were trafficked for sexual exploitation.
The numbers surged compared to identifying and referring 574 victims in 2022 – even though government increased victim protection efforts per the report. What’s even more worrying is the fact that the majority of identified victims – 505 – were children, with most identified victims, 616, being Ghanaians.
The 123 foreign national victims were mostly Nigerians with others identified as from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Vietnam.
According to the report, the United States Department of States indicates Ghana does not fully meet 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.
The US Department of States says Ghana remains on Tier 2 of the ranking due to government’s demonstrated overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous reporting period.
Efforts include increasing trafficking investigations, prosecutions and convictions – and identifying and referring more trafficking victims to services.
Additionally, government provided trauma-informed training for judicial and law enforcement officials and increased its coordination with civil society on protection and prevention efforts. These notwithstanding, 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”.
Meanwhile, 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 – remain inadequate.
Over the past five years, human traffickers have exploited domestic and foreign victims in Ghana while traffickers exploited victims from Ghana abroad.
