According to organisations engaged in the fight against child trafficking, most children trafficked in ghana end up in fishing communities around yeji on the shores of the volta lake, where they are subjected to major forms of abuse by their owners. The iom yeji project quickly caught attention for its work in rescuing children from a form of modern day slavery. Ghanas human trafficking act 2005, for example, has. Child trafficking reduces in volta region ghana business. Iloipec and the subregional project on combating the trafficking of children in west and central africa, local capacity building for the prevention of crossborder child trafficking in 30 border communities between ghana and togo and between benin and togo, january 2004, 2. Child trafficking reduces in volta region ghana business news. In june 2015, president mahama and thenambassador gene cretz signed the child protection compact cpc partnership. Furthermore, it seeks to understand and differentiate child trafficking from child labor, and child labor from commonly perceived responsibilities that children have. The cpc partnership began in 2015 and the first highlevel consultation in 2017.
The lack of attention to adult victims reflects the prevailing perception that adults should be able to stand up for themselves. Of these 74 were labor trafficking investigations, most of which were trafficking within ghana, and 17 were sex trafficking investigations, all of which involved cross border trafficking. This includes both hazardous fisheries work by children under age 18 and child trafficking. Child trafficking, ghana, root causes, law enforcement. They are currently focused on child labor, especially in the fishing and cocoa industry. Globally, unicef is committed to the protection of children from violence, exploitation and abuse. In the light of this, she called on the public to actively support the fight against human trafficking and cautioned young people of the dangers out. Jan 10, 2019 child trafficking reduced in the volta region by 89. Child trafficking and child labour on the rise in ghana.
It is important to note, however, that it is not the quantity of trafficking in any given country that is being evaluated. During focus group discussions held during project design, participants reported that child labour and child trafficking is prevalent in the central region. Patience quaye of the antihuman trafficking unit of ghana police service. Combating child trafficking in the cocoa industry and other. Ending child trafficking in ghana the borgen project. Sadly, in ghana, it has both cross border and domestic human trafficking, expressing worry that trafficking in persons is the second largest criminal activity in the world, following illegal drugs just in front of illegal arms, says csupt. Parents often sell their children to traffickers due to poverty and several other reasons. In ghana, the internal trafficking of children into hazardous labour is a major challenge. Training manual to fight child trafficking in children for labour, sexual and other forms of exploitation textbook 1. Christian council of ghana policy brief christian council of ghana policy brief christian council of ghana policy brief christian cou children authorededited by. Analytical study on child labour in lake volta fishing in. National plan of action for the elimination of human.
Identify the most affected regions of cote divoire and ghana where child trafficking and exploitation take place, and the regionscountries of origins of trafficked. The regional police commander, francis doku told the media that only two persons were trafficked in 2018 as against 19 persons in. The study use previous work on trafficking to form a theoretical framework, by constructed categories. Over the past 15 years, ghana has taken significant steps towards restoring justice for victims of trafficking. Pdf adoption practices fueling child trafficking in ghana. Child trafficking in ghana united nations office on drugs. The cpc partnership is a jointly developed, multiyear plan aimed at bolstering current efforts of the government of ghana and ghanaian civil society to address child sex trafficking and forced child labor within ghana. Additionally, the uns 2016 sustainable development goals sdgs, specifically target 8. The health and social implications of child trafficking in ghana. Many ghanaian children are trafficked from their home villages to work in the fishing industry. Successes and shortcomings in six years of implementation by manda sertich and marijn heemskerk in collaboration with the enslavement prevention alliance west africa.
The acts composition was mainly guided by the united nations protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children palermo protocol,2 which is the primary. The trafficking in persons report recognizes the trafficking problems we all know exist in ghanaforced labor, child labor and sex trafficking of children and adults. The ghana immigration service gis reported investigating 22 suspected trafficking cases compared with 20 cases in 2016. Current patterns of child trafficking in west and central africa although, child trafficking is a global problem, the practice is particularly widespread in some regions. According to us federal law, child sex trafficking involves engaging a person younger than 18 years in a commercial sex act sexual activity for which there is an exchange of something of value. Child trafficking reduced in the volta region by 89. Although many aspects of the ghanacentric child trafficking discourse are informed by the countrys internal sociocultural, economic and political dynamics, the discourse is firmly rooted in the broader international legislative framework and discourse on trafficking. Purpose this research seeks to examine child trafficking in ghana. In order to combat child trafficking in ghana, especially at the fishing sector, there is. The nonconsensual exploitation of ghanaian citizens, particularly children, is more common than the trafficking of foreign migrants. Standard operating procedures to combat human trafficking in.
Brandt, steven, trafficking in child labor in ghana and senegal 2014. Africa and south asia especially the mekong area are among the worst. The movement of internally trafficked children is either from rural to urban areas, or from one. Ngos, government agencies and local leaders await new bill africa in its effort to eliminate child trafficking in 2002, the government joined the international labour organization ilo and international programme on the elimination of child labour ipec subregional programme entitled combating the trafficking of children for. Here in west africa, millions of youth are affected by this brutal, entrenched trade. Challenging heights an organization that rescues and reintegrates child slaves in ghana aims to end child trafficking in the country by 2022, says james kofi annan. Internationally recognized media outlets such as new york.
Analytical study on child labour in lake volta fishing in ghana international labour organisation. The government of ghana over the years have tried to protect the welfare of children in ghana starting with the united nations convention of the rights of the child, the 1992 constitution of ghana. Countless of ghanas children are taken from their homes and brought. Combating child trafficking in the cocoa industry and. By way of recommendations, the research concludes that.
Child trafficking into forced labor on lake volta, ghana. Mar 20, 2017 challenging heights an organization that rescues and reintegrates child slaves in ghana aims to end child trafficking in the country by 2022, says james kofi annan. Global human trafficking and child victimization american. Ghana is also a source, transit, and destination country for international trafficking for the same types of exploitation pre.
By raggie johansen human trafficking is an international problem affecting millions of people and many countries around the world. Standard operating procedures to combat human trafficking. To succeed in this fight and fully implement the existing law and policy. In ghana, west africa, the internal trafficking of children is one of the biggest challenges. National plan of action for the elimination of human trafficking in ghana. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily. More than 500 instances of child trafficking were uncovered in 20.
In june of 2009, the usa department of trafficking in persons report released a full report documenting at least 30,000 children working as porters, fishermen and others primarily being used for sexual tourism. According to the fifth annual trafficking in persons report tip issued on june 3, 2005 in washington, ghana has become an important source, transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced domestic and commercial labour. The majority of children subject to human trafficking are transported within ghana for labor in cocoa, domestic work, commercial sexual exploitation, gold mining, and fishing. One major challenge to coordination has been the lack of common standards for assistance and. It argues that the discourse grossly underplays the role of external forces in shaping the conditions underpinning childrens labour mobility in the past. The ghana immigration service gis reported investigating 14 suspected trafficking cases compared with 22 cases in 2017. Christian council of ghana policy brief on child trafficking nselected vulnerable and trafficked npoor rehabilitation and reintegration.
International center for transitional justice, children and youth page. Causes of child trafficking lund university publications. Jan 25, 2019 challenging heights is an organization committed to ending child trafficking in ghana, reducing child slavery and promoting childrens rights in the country. This thesis will examine the causes of these problems. Children as young as age 4 are subjected to forced. This paper is a critique of the dominant antitrafficking discourse and activism in ghana.
Standard operating procedures to combat human traf. Combatting child trafficking in ghana issue 4 september 2007 saving the fishing children of ghana, west africa ioms trafficked children project in ghana began in october 2002 with the support of the us state department, bureau of population, refugees, and migration prm. See our booklet, catalyzing a civil society movement against slavery, for details of the free the slaves community liberation initiative strategy to create. The regional police commander, francis doku told the media that only two persons were trafficked in 2018 as against 19 persons in 2017 and commended the media for the support. The health and social implications of child trafficking in ghana over 70 children in the senya fishing community in the central region of ghana are trafficked, both domestic and international, to serve their masters in the fishing industry every year.
One of the worst forms of child labour that occurs in ghana is the trafficking of children. Human trafficking is a global problem affecting millions of people and many countries. Special considerations for child victims of trafficking. Jun 28, 2018 of these 74 were labor trafficking investigations, most of which were trafficking within ghana, and 17 were sex trafficking investigations, all of which involved cross border trafficking. Despite efforts of the ghanaian government to halt the exploitation of its children, ghana remains a major source, transit point, and destination point for child trafficking, and a variety of. Child trafficking in ghana united nations office on. Westat 2016 baseline assessment of the child protection compact partnership. From child labor problem to human trafficking crisis. Ghana, as a country, represents an epicenter for a vicious cycle where many men, women and children are victims of trafficking. Ghana is a country of origin, transit, and destination for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution.
Specifically, the study asks about the root causes of child trafficking in the case of ghana, and why the laws against trafficking enacted there are not adequately enforced. As many as 24,000 children are victims of worst forms of child labor annually in ghana. The health and social implications of child trafficking in. These child trafficking in ghana statistics in ghana is not something new.
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