By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah, GNA
Tema, May 15, GNA - Expertise France, a French Public Agency, has officially ended its four-year project in the fight against human trafficking in the states of the Gulf of Guinea.
The project, dubbed “Support the fight against human trafficking in the states of the Gulf of Guinea,” started in 2019 and ended in 2023 and was sponsored by the European Union (EU).
Ms Alessandra Bianco, the Protection Expert at Expertise France, said in 2019, funds were obtained from the EU and France to implement the Regional Project to support the fight against trafficking in persons in six Gulf of Guinea countries for four years.
Ms Bianco said the project aimed at strengthening the actions and capacities of the six partner countries, including Togo, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Ghana, and Nigeria, for a targeted and effective fight against human trafficking in accordance with the priorities set by the stakeholders and partners.
It focused on four components: institutional, operational, and preventive action consolidation; law enforcement; victim protection; and regional cooperation.
She said their efforts yielded tangible results in Ghana, as 545 victims were provided with care and support while over 54,900 migrants or potential migrants were sensitised to the risk of irregular migration.
Again, critical infrastructures, such as the human trafficking secretariat office, two state shelters for victims of trafficking in Accra and Aflao, and two offices of law enforcement agencies, were renovated and refurbished to enhance their capacity and provide better care and assistance for victims of trafficking, among many other things.
Ms Bianco lauded the Human Trafficking Secretariat for the great collaboration and partnership on the project, the EU for their steadfast commitment, the government authorities, and all stakeholders for their contribution towards the project.
Ms Anna Lixi, the Head of Governance and Security Sector, EU Delegation to Ghana, said human trafficking strips individuals of their dignity, freedom, and future, emphasising that the menace has over the years been an abomination to society and the voiceless.
She said that the EU would ensure the continuation of the project to help eradicate the canker that deprived people of their dignity, stressing that the union was counting on the government of Ghana’s involvement and engagement to support the secretariat with their needed resources.
She stressed the urgent need to reflect on the thematic components of the programme, which were prevention, prosecution, protection, and partnership to move people to preserve the voiceless and vulnerable in society.
Madam Abena Annobea Asare, the Head of the Human Trafficking Secretariat, said 500 law enforcement officers from the Ghana Immigration Service, Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Ghana Police Service, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, National Security, and the tourist industry, among others, would be trainers of trainees in their institutions.
She added that the government had overseen human trafficking before the project came, adding, however, that the partnership had helped in achieving more than expected and gave the assurance that the secretariat the law enforcement agencies were there to work on issues of human trafficking.
GNA