U.S. Department of State 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Ghana

Ghana (Tier 2)

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. Both boys and girls are trafficked within Ghana for forced labor in the fishing industry, agriculture, mines, quarries, and as porters, street hawkers and truck pushers. Girls are also trafficked within Ghana for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Children are also trafficked to and from other West African countries, most notably Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and The Gambia, to work as farm workers, laborers, divers, street hawkers, or domestics. Women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation from Ghana to Western Europe, from Nigeria through Ghana to Western Europe, and from Burkina Faso through Ghana to Cote d'Ivoire.

The Government of Ghana does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, despite limited resources. To improve its response to trafficking, Ghana should: strengthen law enforcement efforts against traffickers; increase efforts to provide assistance to victims; ensuring in particular that foreign victims rescued at Ghana's borders are not turned away without assistance; establish the Human Trafficking Board and Fund mandated by its 2005 anti-trafficking law; and adopt its national action plan to combat trafficking.

Prosecution

The Government of Ghana increased its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during the last year. Ghana prohibits all forms of trafficking through its 2005 Human Trafficking Act, which prescribes a minimum penalty of five years' imprisonment, but no maximum penalty, for all forms of trafficking; this is sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for rape. In February 2007, the government obtained its first conviction of a trafficker under the 2005 law; the trafficker received a sentence of six years' imprisonment. The government arrested three additional traffickers during the year, releasing two for lack of evidence and prosecuting one. The government launched a nationwide campaign to educate the public about the new anti-trafficking law. In February 2007, the government contributed personnel, venues, transport and other logistical support to a four-day ILO-sponsored workshop on trafficking for military personnel, police, Prisons Service, and Customs, Excise and Preventive Service officers. The government also provided a venue for UNODC-sponsored trafficking training for law enforcement officials. In October 2006, the Ghana Immigration Service created and staffed a position for a trafficking desk officer dedicated to overseeing anti-trafficking operations. A member of Ghana's parliament was indicted by a U. S. court in 2002 for trafficking a Ghanaian woman to the United States for forced domestic servitude; Ghanaian authorities have yet to respond to the U. S. request for the official's extradition, despite repeated U. S. efforts to secure the extradition of the official, who was re-elected to Parliament in 2004.

Protection

The Government of Ghana demonstrated sustained but inadequate efforts to provide care for trafficking victims during the year. The government does not have formal procedures for the identification of victims among vulnerable populations such as persons detained for prostitution or immigration violations, and for their referral to protection services. It continued to contribute utilities and personnel to the private Madina shelter for child trafficking victims. However, this facility, which assisted approximately 75 victims in the last year is too small to meet the full demand for care. The government also operates two children's homes in Accra, where victims can be housed temporarily until they are repatriated, but these homes are stretched beyond capacity. The government plans to improve its protection services once it establishes the Human Trafficking Fund to provide victim assistance. In August 2006, police rescued 46 child victims trafficked within Ghana and officials returned them to their home communities. Government efforts to encourage victims to assist in trafficking investigations or prosecutions are hampered by a lack of coordination between agencies responsible for anti-trafficking activities. While Ghana's anti-trafficking law allows for victims to remain in Ghana if it is in their best interest after their trafficking has been prosecuted, this provision has never been implemented. Most victims of trafficking are not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, but foreign victims rescued on Ghana's borders are frequently turned away rather than provided with care.

Prevention

The Government of Ghana demonstrated strong efforts to raise awareness about trafficking during the reporting period. The government conducted anti-trafficking media sensitization campaigns and organized workshops. For example, in December 2006, the government held a one-day workshop in Tema to build capacity for community anti-trafficking surveillance teams. In November 2006, MOWAC and the Attorney General's Office held a two-day anti-trafficking workshop in Accra for religious organizations. Although the government has identified a coordinator for the 17-member Human Trafficking Board, the President has not yet signed the order required to establish this body. In June 2006, government officials participated in an ILO-funded workshop to create a national action plan to combat trafficking. Once established, the Human Trafficking Board will approve and implement the plan. Ghana has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.