General News of Tuesday, 1 September 2009

Source: GNA

Denmark supports Ghana's anti-child trafficking efforts

Accra, Sept. 1, GNA - The Danish Government on Tuesday pledged its continued support to Ghana's efforts at eliminating all forms of human trafficking and illegal migration in the country. So far about $600,000 has been spent on anti-child trafficking campaigns over the past two years, and it is expected that the programme would be extended for another year.

Ms Vibeke Gram Mortensen, Counsellor at the Danish Embassy in Ghana, made the pledge at the annual meeting of Law enforcement agencies, the Judiciary, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) on Human Trafficking and Irregular Migration in Ghana in Accra. The meeting under the theme: "Assessment of Human Trafficking and Irregular Migration in Ghana: The General Overview and The Way Forward", was to appraise the various programmes and campaigns initiated by government and CSOs over the years to address the issues on human trafficking and illegal migrations in the country.

Present were representatives from the Attorney General's Department, the Police, the Judiciary and NGOs who would deliberate and evaluate the various campaign strategies put in place to reduce child trafficking and illegal migrations.

Ms Mortensen said as a result of the campaigns, many people were now aware of the issues on human trafficking and illegal migration. She said compared to other countries in the Sub-region, Ghana's efforts were encouraging in terms of measures to curb the incidence of children being used for fishing and other forms of hazardous work. Ms Mortensen expressed the hope that the knowledge acquired from the meeting would encourage stakeholders to work effectively to reduce human trafficking in the country. 1 Sept. 09