HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 

Human smuggling must cease!

-Gov tells perpetrators

The government has warned perpetrators of human trafficking and smuggling to put an end to the nefarious activities or face the full rigors of the law when caught.

According to the government, in its plan to provide a conduceive environment devoid of any criminality, it was going to resource the Ghana Immigration Service to beef-up their operations to enable them carry out their operations effectively.

The government made this observation through its representative, Kobby Acheampong, Deputy Minister for Interior at a two-day stakeholders’ conference on Human Trafficking and Human smuggling in Accra yesterday.

Human trafficking is an international problem affecting millions of people and many countries around the world. In Ghana, the internal trafficking of children is one of the biggest challenges facing the government.

An Extract from U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2009 suggests that Ghana is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking within the country is more prevalent than transnational trafficking and the majority of victims are children.

Over 30,000 children are believed to be working as porters, or Kayaye, in Accra alone. Annually, the IOM reports numerous deaths of boys trafficked for hazardous forced labor in the Lake Volta fishing industry. Girls are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. To a lesser extent, boys are also trafficked internally for sexual exploitation, primarily for sex tourism.

According to Kobby Acheampong in order to effectively tackle the menace, multi-dimensional response would be needed. Also, government added that socio-economic root causes of these irregular acts of human smuggling and trafficking should be frowned upon all.

The government, through Kobby Acheapong who stepped in for the sector minister, believes that strategies should be put in place to efficiently eradicate the monstrous phenomenon by dismantling the syndicated organization that carry out this heinous crimes.

Also, Kobby Acheapong believed that owing to the sophisticated nature with which these twin crimes are being perpetrated with perfection and impunity, a multi-faceted partnership and approaches was needed in order to gain any remarkable success in the fight against smuggling of humans and other forms of irregular migration in Ghana.

Citing the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said that perpetrators of such despicable crimes would be prosecuted if caught.

Government through the Hon. Interior Minister, promised to continue to resource the Ghana Immigration  Service (GIS)  through capacity building of officers’ of GIS in its quest to effectively protect the socio-economic development and nation’s security.

According to the Hon. William Kwasi  Aboah, the immigration act, 2000 (act 573) has been amended in order to include human or migrant smuggling as a criminal offence. This was to ensure that offences of migrant smuggling were captured in the laws of Ghana he noted.

The Hon. William Kwasi  Aboah further stated that, His Excellency the President of Ghana has assented to the parliamentary bill to bring into effect an amendment in section 52(2) of immigration act, 2000 (act 573). The new law, the Immigration amendment act, 2012 (act 848) was established to criminalize migrant smuggling.

According to Him, it was necessary to criminalize migrant smuggling because it is a predicate offence for money laundering under the anti-money laundering act, 2008(act 749). 

 The Hon. Interior Minister, at the two-day conference on countering Human Trafficking and Smuggling, used the opportunity to express government’s deepest appreciation and gratitude to Members of Parliament for their tireless effort in the passing of the bill.