Workshop on dangers of human trafficking held

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July 3, 2008

THE Bishop of the Wa Diocese of the Catholic Church, Most Rev Paul Bemile, has called on the ECOWAS Parliament to, as a matter of urgency, develop an affirmative action policy that will curb human trafficking in the sub-region.
According to him, there should be a concerted and holistic approach by all in the region to stop the practice.
Most Rev Bemile made the call at the opening of the West African Regional Awareness Workshop on Dangers of Human Trafficking in Accra last Sunday.
The two-day workshop is to give participants the opportunity to share experiences on human trafficking, discuss strategies to eliminate the incidence of human trafficking and identify various ways of resource mobilisation for campaign against human trafficking, among other things.
Most Rev Bemile noted that the Human Trafficking Act should be vigorously enforced at both the national and international levels to prosecute perpetrators of the act.
He indicated that the country’s Constitution as well as constitutions of other nations and the United Nations Declaration upheld the right and dignity of every person, irrespective of race, religious affiliation, class, gender, among other things.
“We Christians believe that God sent His only begotten son Jesus to suffer and die for us so that we may be redeemed from suffering. It is, therefore, not normal for some people to go through suffering caused by greed and selfishness of their fellow beings,” he stated.
Most Rev Bemile said for instance, child trafficking was not only motivated by the need for labour on plantation farms and their use as child soldiers, but formed part of the global sex trade which was considered as the worst form of child labour.
The Deputy Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, Mr Daniel Christian Dugan, said the ministry had drawn up a detailed National Action Plan for an effective implementation of both the Domestic Violence Act and the Human Trafficking Act.
He said the ministry would collaborate with all the relevant enforcement agencies, adding that “we expect that all civil society organisations, NGOs, development partners will come on board for the successful implementation of the two plans of action”.
Such a combined effort, he said, should give impetus to a respect for such valuable laws so far as the fight against trafficking in persons and child labour were concerned.
A child protection specialist with UNICEF, Mr Eric Appiah Okrah, stressed the need for the church to join in the fight against human trafficking.