Stakeholders brainstorm how to eradicate child trafficking

Accra, Oct. 20, GNA - Experts on Child Trafficking has called for the establishment of a national taskforce to thoroughly deal with the practice to ensure its eradication.

They also suggested that work on the proposed child trafficking bill be fast-tracked to facilitate the work of the law enforcement agencies and also provide legal backing for prosecution of the perpetrators.

The experts made the call at a forum jointly organized by the United States Embassy and International Labour Organisation on child labour in Accra to dilate on the issue of child trafficking. They identified poverty as the main factor underpinning child trafficking and stressed the need to tackle the problem at the grassroots level.

It was however agreed on that women should be economically empowered, to be better placed to cater for their families, thereby reducing the practice.

The act of child trafficking was widely attributed to ignorance, illiteracy and irresponsible parenthood.

It was also observed that as much as human migration could not be directly referred to as child trafficking, it however makes children vulnerable and exposes them to the perpetrators.

Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, said her Ministry was working closely with other stakeholders solve the problem holistically.

She admitted that child trafficking persists in the country but said it had not assumed magnanimous proportion as in other sub-regional countries.

Mrs Asmah said the endemic poverty regions of the country recorded high trafficking incidence. "In this regard, greater effort is being made to ensure that those areas receive some micro level assistance to alleviate their plight".

Mr Mark Taylor, U.S State Department Expert in Human Trafficking, said ECOWAS had been identified as the key force to reckon with to deal with the issue holistically.

He suggested the need for countries to strengthen their security agencies through training to enable the personnel detect child trafficking practices at any level.

Mr Taylor called for the establishment of child trafficking unit of the police to investigate the act, interview victims and gather information.