Child trafficking must stop

Child trafficking is a broad term that refers to the buying, selling or illegal

transportation of children.According to the Palermo Protocols definition, it is

“the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by

means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, fraud,

deception”

It also includes “Giving, receiving payments or benefits to achieve control over

another person, for the purpose of exploitation...” According to the Palermo

Protocols, exploitation includes forced labour and servitude. Child exploitation

can also include forced laboror services, slaveryor practices similar to

slavery, servitude, the removal of organs, illicit international adoption,

trafficking for early marriage, recruitment as child soldiers, for use in

beggingor as athletes (such as child camel jockeysor football players), or for

recruitment for cults

The Palermo definition is not limited to cross-border trafficking – between

neighboring States – and can be applied to both internal and intercontinental

trafficking.

It is a form of Trafficking in human beingsas defined by the UN Protocol to

Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and

Children. The International Labour Organizationconvention 182defines it as a

form of child labor.

Some forms it takes in Ghana

In Ghana, many children are trafficked from their home villages to the cities.

There are also increasing cases of children trafficked to work in the fishing,

mining, farming and quarrying communities. There have also been reports of some

people whose business is to traffic children from Ghana to neighboring

countries.

Many children, and their parents, believe that going away to work is a route to

a better life. Most parents don't know the value of education; for them, it's

more immediately valuable for their children to be given out to work. In the

fishing communities for instance, children represent cheap labour, and their

samll nimble fingers are useful in releasing the fish from the ever smaller

nets.

What victims go through

Victims of Child trafficking go through a lot.Children victimized by human

trafficking will likely emerge with mental problems, substance abuse,

prostitution, and even commit these same acts, as they grow older. They mostly

suffer from dental decay, malnutrition and pain, for the lack of a proper diet.

They are often psychologically scarred and bitter after being saved. The

traffickers smuggle more boys than girls in the coastal areas for instance. The

girls they do traffic are treated as sex objects, and so they scarcely tell

their stories. They suffer quietly.

The welfare of the child is always paramount

The UN declaration Relating to the Welfare of Children emphasises the preference

for children being raised by family members, rather than by adoptive families.

“The child shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the

responsibility of his parents and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection

and of moral and material security.

Even in the case of international adoption, the Convention on Protection of

Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoptionwhich was developed

by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, provides that Intercountry

adoptions shall be made in the best interests of the child and with respect for

his or her fundamental rights. To prevent the abduction, the sale of, or traffic

in children each State should take, as a matter of priority, appropriate

measures to enable the child to remain in the care of his or her family of

origin.

In Ghana, the Children’s Act, 1998 provides thatno person shall deny a child the

right to live with his parents and family and grow up in a caring and peaceful

environment. Unless it is proved in court that in living with his or her parents

the child would be exposed to significant harm; subject to serious abuse or

lifewith his or her parents would not be in the best interest of the child.

The Way Forward

By this article, I would like to remind the general public that child

trafficking is criminal and we must all be involved in educating ourselves on

the need to put an end to it. I would call on the Ministry of Women and

Children’s Affair and all appropriate state department and agencies to revisit

strategies put in place o fight this canker and make necessary modifications.

Non governmental organizations that are involved in fighting this canker should

not relent on their efforts.

Child trafficking is a brutal violation of the rights of children. It is an

affront to their dignity and a blatant disregard for their personhood. Let us

all come together to chase it out of our society.

By

Bill Graham Osei Akomea

oseibill@yahoo.co.uk

the writer is with the Plight of the Child International (POCI)