Accra, March 22, GNA - Campaign materials were launched to promote the benefits of legal migration and sensitise the public on the dangers of illegal migration.

The materials, which would serve as information guides to help migrants to make informed choices, would be packaged and disseminated in various forms such as documentaries, TV and radio programmes, posters, flyers, banners, seminars as well as community durbars. Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, Deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation, who launched the materials at a brief ceremony in Accra on Thursday, reiterated President John Agyekum Kufuor's call during the 50th anniversary at Independence Square that the youth should stay in the country and support development.

She stated that recent dramatic occurrences such as drowning of African migrants in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean called for effective information campaigns that would promote the benefits of safe migration. She said it was important that the youth were educated on the intricacies of illegal and irregular migration to help avoid some of the calamities that could befall them on their journeys.

The campaign was jointly initiated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), European Union, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD and the Ministry of Information and National Orientation. Mrs Sai Cofie said the campaign was in line with efforts of the government of Ghana, intergovernmental agencies and Non-governmental organizations to counter human trafficking and illegal migration and noted that while illegal migration could not be totally stopped, it could be managed to minimize casualties.

She said the Ministry of information and National Orientation had taken delivery of the first batch of brand new cinema vans in fulfilment of governments' efforts in reinforcing the information dissemination policies to keep the public informed, especially at the grassroots.

Mrs. Sai Cofie said government had put in place programmes such as the youth employment schemes, National Health Insurance and current educational reforms to help improve the human resource base of the country.

She called on all stakeholders to be vigilant and further play their civic roles by raising public awareness of the dangers of illegal migration.

The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, acknowledged the fact that emigration from Ghana had become an integral component of the survival and mobility strategies of some individuals and families.

He said although the country received huge benefits from remittances from abroad, as evidenced by the proliferation of money transfer institutions, the need to regulate migration from and into the country was urgent.

He stated that as any other nation, Ghana abhorred illegal entry of migrants and also recognized the Palermo Protocol, which was against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea or air, supplementing the United Nations' Convention against Transitional Organized Crime (TOC). The protocol, he said, was aimed at safeguarding the rights of migrants and the reduction of the power and influence of organized criminal groups that abused migrants.

"It also put emphasis on the need to provide migrants with humane treatment, and of the need for comprehensive international approaches to combating smuggling, including socio-economic measures that address the root causes of migration," he said.

Mr Agyemang Manu said the GIS had established a Migration Information Bureau with a primary objective of helping migrants access the right information on safe migration.

Mr Davide Terzi, IOM Country Representative, said the campaign would follow a six-week intensive education and sensitisation of the youth in tertiary institutions, second cycle institutions, youth associations as well as community leaders.

He mentioned the target communities as Accra and Tema, Sunyani, Dormaa, Berekum.

Mr Terzi said within the framework of the project the GIS and the IOM with support from the UNDP would also activate telephone hotlines at the Migration Information Bureau at the GIS Head office in Accra and consultation centres in Accra and Sunyani as accessible tools to inform victims and potential migrants of the dangers and risks involved in such journeys.

He stated that the information campaign was also expected to enhance the expertise of the Migration Information Bureau of the GIS with regard to providing relevant information regarding issues on legal or safe migration. 22 March 07