The government increased prevention efforts. The Human Trafficking Management Board – the inter-ministerial committee mandated to administer the HTF, advise the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP) on anti-trafficking policy, promote prevention efforts, and facilitate the protection and reintegration of trafficking victims – met quarterly. The Human Trafficking Secretariat (HTS) coordinated anti-trafficking efforts under the MOGCSP, including implementation of the 2022-2026 NAP and accompanying communications strategy, and met regularly with anti-trafficking stakeholders. The government allocated 650,000 cedis ($54,620) on the NAP’s implementation, compared with 460,000 cedis ($38,660) during the previous year.
The government conducted extensive trainings and public awareness campaigns with government officials, civil society stakeholders, and community leaders, both independently and in collaboration with NGOs and international organizations. The government hosted the annual ECOWAS Trafficking in Persons Forum to improve regional collaboration. The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, in coordination with the HTS, conducting trainings on child labor and child trafficking for fishing industry workers, advocates, management committees, and other community stakeholders. The government had a standardized trafficking data collection system in five regions, developed with an international organization’s support; however, the system was not fully implemented. GPS operated a tip line that was able to respond to trafficking-related calls. The MOGCSP operated a hotline in English and six local languages for victims of abuse and a mobile application for reporting gender-based violence (GBV) crimes, including human trafficking; the government identified at least two victims as a result of hotline calls.
The government provided anti-trafficking training to labor inspectors, and inspectors had a forced labor training manual. Inspectors identified and removed child victims from exploitative labor situations and referred 54 cases, including suspected trafficking cases, to law enforcement for criminal investigation; at least seven of the cases resulted in convictions. The government did not adequately inspect Ghanaian-flagged fishing vessels for indicators of forced labor; while government-appointed monitors inspected some vessels for illegal fishing practices and indicators of forced labor, they were often threatened or bribed to issue false reports.
The government regulated formal labor recruitment and required private employment agencies to register; it also provided optional pre-departure trainings for migrant workers, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations (MELR) and GIS screened for trafficking indicators. However, there were continued reports of fraudulent labor recruiters exploiting women in domestic servitude abroad. The law did not prohibit worker-paid recruitment fees; however, MELR discouraged licensed recruitment agencies from charging recruitment fees. The government continued its 2017 ban on labor migration to Gulf states; the policy restricted Ghanaians’ access to legal migration, subsequently increasing their vulnerability to trafficking. The government continued implementing and training government and NGO stakeholders on its 2020 National Labor Migration Policy and 2020-2024 implementation plan; the plan included provisions to prevent labor exploitation and increase Ghanaian embassies’ capacity to assist migrant workers abroad and protect foreign workers in Ghana.
The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. The government provided anti-trafficking training to its troops prior to their deployment as peacekeepers. However, although not explicitly reported as human trafficking, an international organization reported there were three open cases of alleged sexual exploitation with trafficking indicators by Ghanaian peacekeepers deployed to the UN peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2011 and 2012 and South Sudan in 2022. The government had not yet reported the accountability measures taken, if any, for the open cases at the end of the reporting period. Unlike the previous year, the government provided anti-trafficking training to its diplomatic personnel.
from 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – U.S. Department of State
2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States Department of State
