Editorial: While commendable, government efforts to combat victims of human trafficking need to be stepped up

According to the 2023 Ghana Trafficking in Persons Report, 944 victims of human trafficking were identified and reported by the government last year. Of that number, 821 were trafficked as laborers, while the rest were trafficked for sexual exploitation.

The numbers were up from 574 identified and referred victims in 2022, despite the government stepping up victim protection efforts, according to the report. What is even more worrying is that the majority of identified victims – 505 – were children, with the majority of identified victims, 616, being Ghanaians.

The 123 foreign victims were mainly Nigerians, while others came from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Vietnam.

According to the report, the US State Department indicates that Ghana does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking, but that it is making significant efforts to do so.

The ministry recommends that the country continue to step up efforts to investigate and prosecute suspected traffickers, including complicit officials and fraudulent labor recruiters, and seek appropriate sentences for convicted traffickers, which should include significant prison sentences.

According to the US State Department, Ghana remains at Level 2 of the ranking, as the government is generally making greater efforts than in the previous reporting period.

Efforts include increasing investigations, prosecutions and convictions for trafficking, and identifying and referring more trafficking victims to aid organizations.

In addition, the government provided trauma-informed training for judicial and law enforcement officials and increased coordination with civil society on protection and prevention efforts. Despite this, the government fell short of minimum standards in several key areas.

For example, the government continued its 2017 ban on labor migration to the Gulf States, increasing vulnerability to trafficking. Despite reports of fraudulent labor recruiters exploiting Ghanaian victims abroad, the government reported failing to hold any fraudulent recruiters accountable.

“The government has failed to adequately address complicity in human trafficking crimes and has not amended the anti-trafficking law to remove the option of a fine instead of imprisonment in cases where the trafficker was a parent or guardian of a child victim.”

Meanwhile, efforts to screen vulnerable populations for indicators of human trafficking – such as migrant workers, asylum seekers and workers on national fishing vessels of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – remain inadequate.

Over the past five years, traffickers have exploited domestic and foreign victims in Ghana, while traffickers have exploited victims from Ghana abroad.