Three organisations to launch booklet to combat human trafficking

A new booklet designed to empower communities to stop human trafficking will be launched.

The book is a collaboration of the French Embassy, International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection.

A press release on the launch copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, acknowledges the prevention work by IOM in the Volta Region indicating that only 4.7 per cent of the community surveyed understood child trafficking as being a human rights violation. This was a wake-up call that highlighted the need to ensure that as many Ghanaians as possible are aware of the laws that exist to protect their communities, including children, against traffickers.

The release noted that, the 16-page book, available in English and Ewe, includes illustrations and simple text, to inform various audiences including those with low literacy skills about the 2005 Human Trafficking Act. The project, funded by the French Embassy in Ghana and implemented by IOM benefited from invaluable expert contributions by the Government, United Nations and Civil Society experts.

It also said that, 2000 booklets will be disseminated through district level structures in order to motivate communities to take ownership of the law and make positive use of it to protect their communities and children.

“Beyond pure information sharing, we hope that this new tool will make the communities play a more proactive role in child protection. Communities have an inner desire to protect their own and this is what we are trying to ignite and mobilize for more effective human trafficking prevention,” Ms. Sylvia Lopez-Ekra, IOM Chief of Mission in Ghana was cited as saying in the release.

The French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Francois Pujolas, was also cited as saying that, “This programme has a strong regional dimension with several cross borders activities also aimed at strengthening the West African regional coordination.”

Pamela Ofori-Boateng