Ghana fails in fight against human trafficking – US report

The United States government has accused Ghana of failing to do enough to eliminate human trafficking.

The charge is contained in a 2013 trafficking report released by the US State Department.

The report says despite the strides made by Ghana so far in reducing human trafficking, government has failed to take advantage of opportunities to do more.

It says for instance, the government of Ghana has failed to provide any specialized anti-trafficking training to law enforcement officials and did not provide sufficient funding to properly maintain government-operated shelters.

The report signed by US Secretary of State John Kerry noted that the Ghana government rather decreased efforts to protect victims.

It says the anti-human trafficking unit of the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigation Department reported “identifying 262 victims, but only referring 33 on an ad hoc basis to government and NGO-run facilities offering protective care”.

In its recommendations, the US government urged Ghana to increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, convict and punish trafficking offenders.

It also asked government to adopt an LI to implement effectively, the 2005 Human Trafficking Act; Ensure the maintenance of government-operated shelters; Improve data collection and reporting on victims identified and assisted.