Ghana has taken the appropriate steps to ensure that the requisite institutions are established to coordinate and prosecute an anti-human trafficking agenda.

Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on the day to mark the 2015 World Day Against Human Trafficking.

Nana Oye Lithur said human trafficking is cruel, exploitative and one of the most heinous crimes that could be perpetrated by any person or group of persons and must be eradicated in the society.

“Trafficking steals the human right, dignity and pride of the individual and we must all be part of protecting each other by being vigilant,” she said.

Nana Oye Lithur said Ghana has been working hard to curb the menace saying: “It is for this reason that Ghana has taken steps to ensure that the requisite institutions are established to coordinate and prosecute anti-human trafficking agenda.”

Among these institutions, she said, are the Anti- human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, Migration Information Bureau, and the Human Trafficking Bureau within the Ghana Immigration Service.

Nana Oye Lithur said has enacted a number legislations including the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694); the Labour Act, Children’s Act 1998, (Act 560); the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (Act 732) and the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

She said the Human Trafficking Regulation has been laid in Parliament and the Human Trafficking Management Board also has been inaugurated.

She said these measures are yielding some results as in 2014, the Human Trafficking Secretariat under the Ministry of Gender, identified 146 victims of whom 82 are Ghanaians returning from trafficking situations in the Gulf countries. This is a decrease from 182 victims reported in 2013.

Nana Oye Lithur said to further strengthen Ghana’s drive in the fight against human trafficking, Ghana and the United States signed the first Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership.

The CPC Partnership, worth $ 5 million, is a jointly-developed, multi-year plan aimed at bolstering current efforts of Ghana and Ghanaian civil society to address child sex trafficking and forced child labour in Ghana.

Meanwhile the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon in a message to mark the 2015 World Day Against Human Trafficking expressed concern that around the world, criminals are still selling people for profit.

He noted that vulnerable women and girls form the majority of human trafficking victims, including those driven into degrading sexual exploitation.

Mr Ban Ki-moon said trafficked persons are often tricked into servitude with the false promise of a well-paid job.

“Migrants crossing deadly seas and deserts to escape conflict, poverty and persecution are also at risk of being trafficked.

“Individuals can find themselves alone in a foreign land where they have been stripped of their passports, forced into debt and exploited for labour.

“Children and young people can find their lives stolen, their education blocked and their dreams dashed. It is an assault on their most basic human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he said.

Mr Ban Ki-moon said criminal trafficking networks thrive in countries where the rule of law is weak and international cooperation is difficult.

He called on all countries to fight money laundering and ratify the UN Conventions against corruption and transnational organised crime.

“We must also provide meaningful assistance to those in need, including protection and access to justice and remedies I applaud the donors who have enabled the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons Fund to assist thousands of people.

“At the same time, I urge greater contributions to help the many million other victims of this crime move forward with their lives.

“Every country must join together to overcome this transnational threat by supporting and protecting victims while pursuing and prosecuting the criminals. On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, let us resolve to act as one in the name of justice and dignity for all,” Mr Ban Ki-moon said.