July 11, 2017
The Organisation for Migration has called for a concerted effort from among stakeholders towards combating unsafe migration and human trafficking.
According to Sylvia Ekra Lopez, Chief of Mission at the Organisation for Migration, human trafficking involves sophisticated syndicates and networks that could only be broken through collaboration and partnership among countries and related agencies.
Madam Lopez made the call at the launch of this year’s UN Day against Human Trafficking in Accra today.
She explained that through the relevant cooperation, over 750 children had been rescued from human trafficking since 2002 with two of them becoming teachers.
The day, which had the theme, “Let us Unite to End Human Trafficking: Take Action Now,” was launched with a renewed call for Ghana to make it tier one human trafficking watch list of countries that meet the minimum standard of eliminating human trafficking.
Ghana is identified as a source, a transit and destination country for human trafficking and placed in tier two watch list.
Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, launching the day which will fall on July 30, also referred to as Blue Day, called for a stop to the demand and supply chain.
Human Trafficking is estimated to be the second-largest trade after drug, raking 150 billion dollars in profit for the perpetrators, according to International Labour Organisation 2014 report.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals has set targets to end the global menace of human trafficking by 2030.
Madam Djaba urged stakeholders “to come together to fight these unscrupulous persons who cause great trouble, pain and suffering in our society.”
“We must stop the supply of people to meet the demands of unscrupulous people of our vulnerable individuals in the society,” Ms Djaba said.
Among other interventions, she announced that the Human Trafficking National Plan of Action would soon be launched as part of efforts to curb the menace.
She cited low level of education, poverty, gender discrimination and ignorance as some of the factors that fuel human trafficking, and called for stakeholder’s attention in addressing these factors.
ADR News Desk/adrdaily.com
