ECOWAS meeting on trafficking in persons opens in Accra

Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Francisca Oteng Mensah, has underscored inadequate shelters to accommodate victims of Human trafficking in Ghana and the ECOWAS subregion as a major challenge in Human Trafficking rescue operations.

She said the safety of rescued victims of trafficking can only be guaranteed when linked with befitting accommodation, which is paramount to effective re-integration processes.

The Deputy Minister was speaking at the 15th Annual Review Meeting of the ECOWAS Regional Network of National Focal Institutions against Trafficking in Persons in Accra on Monday, July 24, 2023.

The Annual Review Meeting of the ECOWAS Regional Network of National Focal Institutions against Trafficking in Persons is a platform for countries to ensure compliance with their respective legal and institutional frameworks and the ECOWAS Plan of Action. It is also an opportunity for experience sharing, planning, and identification of priorities in member states.

This year’s meeting is to review the implementation of actions throughout 2021–2022.

Madam Oteng Mensah said addressing Trafficking in persons calls for cross-border interventions from ECOWAS member states. She was hopeful the meeting would offer some solutions for ensuring the safety of victims of Trafficking after they have been rescued.

“It is important to be concerned about action taken to ensure the survival of rescued victims of Trafficking within our sub-region. A challenge in Ghana and, I believe, across the ECOWAS regions is inadequate shelters to accommodate the victims of Human Trafficking and other related crimes. What do we do with these victims after they are rescued from the perpetrators? This, I believe, is one of the reasons we have gathered here to identify clear mechanisms and pathways for handling cross-border victims of trafficking.”

She said well-coordinated migration initiatives in the subregion will promote development. She added that the annual review meeting is a commitment to the region’s preparedness to fight Trafficking in Persons.

“We attend this conference as human capital and experts in combating Trafficking and irregular migration. Let us promote safe and orderly migration to ensure the development of the sub-region. This 15th annual conference indicates that the region is committed to making strides in the fight against human trafficking.”

Head of the Trafficking Unit, ECOWAS, Olatunde Olayemi, said the implementation of the outcomes of last year’s review meeting has seen significant gains. He said that with the support of its partners, ECOWAS will continue to work to end the menace.

“Last year’s annual review meeting came to important conclusions, including the endorsement of our collective wellbeing in strengthening national-level implementation of the Trafficking in Persons Plan of Action of ECOWAS. This includes national implementation through the strengthening of national referral mechanisms, the strengthening of regional referral mechanisms, and a policy which we formally refer to as TIP Plus, or if you prefer, the Trafficking in Persons and Related Criminal Victimisation Approach. These were all outcomes of last year’s work that we agreed to take further. I’m glad to report sound progress on every one of these parameters. ”

He said, “Our vision remains one of total elimination of Trafficking in Persons and Related Criminal victimisation in our region and exponentially strengthening human security for all persons within the region.”

Head of Office, International Centre for Migration Policy Development, ICMPD, Amala Obiokoyo Nwator, commended ECOWAS for leading the fight against Trafficking in Persons in member countries.

She said the welfare of victims must be placed at the centre of all policies and strategies.

“As ECOWAS Member States deliberate on country-level strategies and policies and the implementation of the ECOWAS Plan of Action, we must continue to ask ourselves: have we placed the welfare of TIP Victims at the centre of our policies, strategies, programmes, and interventions in line with this year’s theme: Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind?”

She said the meeting is a wake-up call for countries not to relent in eliminating the practice.

“I call on all national institutions represented here to stand fast; we cannot rest on our oars. We have come a long way since the Palermo protocol was ratified in the year 2000, but we still have a long way to go in effectively combating this menace.”

Participating countries will also take part in a 2-day regional project to support the fight against human trafficking in the six countries of the Gulf of Guinea, including Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, and Togo. The project is implemented by Expertise France with support from ICMPD and financed by the European Union within the framework of the European Union (EU) Emergency Trust Fund with a contribution from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting will strengthen cross-border cooperation in the fight against the trafficking of persons among the six countries in the Gulf of Guinea, serving as a follow-up to the first such online meeting on April 5, 2023. The discussion will focus on identifying ideas for collaboration to improve inter-country cooperation, including in the context of the ECOWAS Multilateral Agreement on Regional Cooperation to Combat Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children in West and Central Africa.