Human Trafficking Training for Engage Now Africa-12th November 2015
1. FACILITATOR: DAVID KOFI AWUSI,
MANAGING CONSULTANT
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
&
ADVOCACY TRAINING
12th November 2015
KOFI EWUSI & ASSOCIATES
For
Staff of Engage Now Africa, Ghana
Email: kofiawusi@gmail.com
2. TRAINING OBJECTIVES
Participants are conversant with the technical
definition of human trafficking and its implication
for policy & programming
Participants are conversant with the
paradigms/models of anti-human trafficking
Participants appreciates the synergy between the
“software” and “hardware” strategies for addressing
human trafficking
Participants are in the position to organize a
community sensitization events
3. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The Evidence of the reality of human trafficking
The concept of human trafficking
Trafficking in Ghana
Legal framework for combating trafficking
Anti-trafficking paradigms
National response to human trafficking in Ghana
Challenging Heights anti-slavery model
Questions & Answers
4. ACTIVITY 1:
What is human trafficking? Is human trafficking a
reality? What is your evidence?
5. DO YOU KNOW THAT……
Globally, 35.8millionpeople are trapped in
modern slavery (GSI, 2014)
In Ghana, over 190,000people are trapped on
modern slavery (GSI, 2014)
On Lake Volta, over 49,000children are
working (ILO/GoG, 2013)
Out of this number, over 21,000people are
engaged in hazardous labour ((ILO/GoG, 2013)
6. THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Human trafficking means “the recruitment,
transportation, transfer, harboring, trading or
receipt of persons for the purposes of exploitation
within and across national borders by the use of
threats, force or other forms of coercion, abduction,
fraud, deception, the abuse of power or exploitation
of vulnerability, or giving or receiving payments
and benefits to achieve consent” [Human
Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694)]
7. 3 ELEMENTS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
1. Acts of trafficking – recruitment, transportation,
transfer, habouring and receipt
2. Means of trafficking – threat, use of force, other forms
of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of
power, abuse of position of vulnerability, giving or
receiving of payments/benefits to achieve consent of a
person having control over another person
3. Ends/purpose of trafficking – exploitation (sexual
exploitation, forced labour and organ theft)
8. TYPES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKINGS
1. Internal trafficking – domestic in nature
(within the country)
2. External trafficking – international in nature
(without or between countries)
9. “COMMUNITY” CLASSIFICATIONS
Origin/source (community/country) e.g. Winneba
Transit (community/country) e.g. Accra
Destination (communities/country) e.g. Yeji
NB: The classification is crucial because it has policy
& programming implications
10. FORMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
1. Labour trafficking
Fishing (e.g. Lake Volta)
Commercial agriculture
Gold mining (“galamsey”)
Stone quarrying
Head porterage
2. Sex trafficking
Commercial sexual exploitation
Sex tourism
3. Organ trafficking
11. TRAFFICKING IN GHANA
Ghana is a source, transit and destination country
for trafficking
Internal trafficking is more prevalent and the vast
majority of trafficking victims are trafficked to and
through Ghana for exploitative purpose such as:
Domestic servitude
Farm labour
Fishing along the coast
Girls are most often trafficked internally for
domestic servitude and sexual exploitation
12. TRAFFICKING IN GHANA
External trafficking is also on the increase.
Women and children are being trafficked for sexual
exploitation through Ghana from Cote d’Ivoire,
Nigeria, Togo and The Gambia to European
countries
They are trafficked from Asia to and through Ghana
for sexual exploitation
Commercial sexual exploitation also occurs in Ghana
In Ghana, most victims are transported by road and
depending on their destination also across internal
water bodies.
13. ISSUE OF CONSENT
Where a child is trafficked, consent by the child,
parents or custodian cannot be a defense to
trafficking.
Gap: The act does not address the issue of consent
where the victim is an adult
14. ROOT CAUSES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
IN GHANA
1. Poverty
2. High profit but low risk (due to weak law enforcement)
3. Ignorance (of laws & false promises)
4. Large family size & neglect
5. Weak political will
6. Traditional fosterage system
16. INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK
1. United Nations Conventions against
Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC)
The UNTOC was born out of a need for a truly global
approach to organized crimes such as human
trafficking.
UNTOC was negotiated in 2000 and entered into force
in September 2003
The purpose of UNTOC is “ to promote cooperation to
prevent and combat transnational organized crime
more effectively”
Ghana is the only ECOWAS country that has not signed
the Convention
17. INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK
2. The Trafficking Protocol
Its am is to prevent and combat trafficking, protect
and assist victims of trafficking and promote
cooperation among States Parties in order to meet
these objectives.
The Protocol’s approach to combating trafficking is
a. Prosecution
b. Protection
c. Prevention
18. REGIONAL FRAMEWORK
1. The ECOWAS Convention on Mutual
Assistance in Criminal Matters
The ECOWAS Convention A/P.1/7/92 on Mutual
Assistance in Criminal Matters entered into forced
on 28 October 2003.
Ghana has ratified this convention including
Gambia, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo etc
This convention does not apply extradition
19. REGIONAL FRAMEWORK
2. The ECOWAS Convention on Extradition
The ECOWAS Convention A/P.1/8/94 on
Extradition as at 2004 had not yet entered into force
Extradition means the surrender of all persons
within the territory of the requested State who are
wanted for prosecution for an offence or who are
wanted by legal authorities of the requesting State
for the carrying out of sentence.
When this Convention enters into force, it will
tighten means aimed at combating human trafficking
20. NATIONAL FRAMEWORK
1. 1992 Constitution of Ghana
2. The Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (amended in
2009)
3. The Criminal Offenses Act, 1960 (Act 29)
4. Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459)
5. Domestic Violence Act, 2007
6. Labour Act, 2003
7. Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560)
8. Juvenile Justice Act, 2003****
23. NATIONAL RESPONSE
Legal Frameworks
National Plans (National Plan of Action, 2010)
National Coordination (HTS)
Human Trafficking Board
Human Trafficking Secretariat at MoGCSP
National Trafficking Steering Committee
Establishing of Human Trafficking Account
Institutional Set-ups
Human Trafficking Secretariat
Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Ghana Police
Economic and Organized Crime Organization (EOCO)
24. BUT……
There is:
No national programme to end human trafficking
Weak coordination
Weak law enforcement
Institutional clashes (e.g. DOVVSU, AHTU & EOCO)
No funds in the Human Trafficking Account
Dysfunctional Human Trafficking Board
Weak National Steering Committee
25. DUE to….
Low prioritization of anti-human trafficking on
national development agenda
Weak political will/commitment
Politicization of trafficking issues
Personal interest (e.g. by some big-shots)
27. 3-TIER THEORY OF CHANGE
Level #1: Individual level (child and family)
Level #2: Society level (child, family and community)
Level #3: Systemic level (laws, policies, cultural
practices, structures and conventions)
30. Advocacy Objectives
1. To raise awareness on human trafficking
2. To influence national policy formulation
3. To pressurize state actors to implement policy and
engender law enforcement
4. Hold duty bearers accountable for performance or
action
5. Contribute to the prevention of human trafficking
in Ghana.
