2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

mandated by its 2005 anti-trafficking law; and
adopt its national action plan to combat trafficking.
Prosecution
The Government of Ghana increased its anti-trafficking
law enforcement efforts during the last year.
Ghana prohibits all forms of trafficking through
its 2005 Human Trafficking Act, which prescribes
a minimum penalty of five years’ imprisonment,
but no maximum penalty, for all forms of trafficking;
this is sufficiently stringent and commensurate
with penalties prescribed for rape. In February 2007,
the government obtained its first conviction of a
trafficker under the 2005 law; the trafficker received
a sentence of six years’ imprisonment. The government
arrested three additional traffickers during the
year, releasing two for lack of evidence and prosecuting
one. The government launched a nationwide
campaign to educate the public about the new
anti-trafficking law. In February 2007, the government
contributed personnel, venues, transport and
other logistical support to a four-day ILO-sponsored
workshop on trafficking for military personnel,
police, Prisons Service, and Customs, Excise and
Preventive Service officers. The government also
provided a venue for UNODC-sponsored trafficking
training for law enforcement officials. In October
2006, the Ghana Immigration Service created
and staffed a position for a trafficking desk officer
dedicated to overseeing anti-trafficking operations.
A member of Ghana’s parliament was indicted by a
U.S. court in 2002 for trafficking a Ghanaian woman
to the United States for forced domestic servitude;
Ghanaian authorities have yet to respond to the U.S.
request for the official’s extradition, despite repeated
U.S. efforts to secure the extradition of the official,
who was re-elected to Parliament in 2004.
Protection
The Government of Ghana demonstrated sustained
but inadequate efforts to provide care for trafficking
victims during the year. The government does
not have formal procedures for the identification
of victims among vulnerable populations such
as persons detained for prostitution or immigration
violations, and for their referral to protection
services. It continued to contribute utilities and
personnel to the private Madina shelter for child
trafficking victims. However, this facility, which
assisted approximately 75 victims in the last year
is too small to meet the full demand for care. The
government also operates two children’s homes
in Accra, where victims can be housed temporarily
until they are repatriated, but these homes
are stretched beyond capacity. The government
plans to improve its protection services once it
establishes the Human Trafficking Fund to provide
victim assistance. In August 2006, police rescued
46 child victims trafficked within Ghana and
officials returned them to their home communities.
Government efforts to encourage victims to assist
in trafficking investigations or prosecutions are
hampered by a lack of coordination between agencies
responsible for anti-trafficking activities. While
Ghana’s anti-trafficking law allows for victims to
remain in Ghana if it is in their best interest after
their trafficking has been prosecuted, this provision
has never been implemented. Most victims of trafficking
are not penalized for unlawful acts committed
as a direct result of being trafficked, but foreign
victims rescued on Ghana’s borders are frequently
turned away rather than provided with care.
Prevention
The Government of Ghana demonstrated strong
efforts to raise awareness about trafficking during
the reporting period. The government conducted
anti-trafficking media sensitization campaigns and
organized workshops. For example, in December
2006, the government held a one-day workshop in
Tema to build capacity for community anti-trafficking
surveillance teams. In November 2006, MOWAC
and the Attorney General’s Office held a two-day
anti-trafficking workshop in Accra for religious organizations.
Although the government has identified a
coordinator for the 17-member Human Trafficking
Board, the President has not yet signed the order
required to establish this body. In June 2006,
government officials participated in an ILO-funded
workshop to create a national action plan to combat
trafficking. Once established, the Human Trafficking
Board will approve and implement the plan. Ghana
has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.
GREECE (Tier 2)
Greece is a transit and destination country for
women and children trafficked for the purposes
of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women
are trafficked mostly from Russia, the Balkans,
Romania, Bulgaria, and Nigeria for the purposes of
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Women are also trafficked from Ukraine, Moldova,
and Belarus. Some Albanian men are trafficked to
Greece for forced labor. Most children trafficked
from Albania to Greece are trafficked for forced
labor, including forced begging and petty crimes;
some are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The number of identified trafficked Albanian
children declined in 2006.
G R E E C E
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