The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has called for a review of the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694).
She said the law, enacted two decades ago, must be a “living” document that reflects emerging issues and current challenges in the fight against human trafficking.
Dr Lartey made the call on the sidelines of an event to climax the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons celebration in Accra, organised by the Human Trafficking Secretariat, following a health walk.
The event was held on the theme: “The Human Trafficking Law @ 20: The Journey So Far in Ghana.”
The global theme for this year’s Blue Day, marked annually on July 30, is: “Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind.”
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation.
Dr Lartey said reviewing the Act would ensure it effectively protects victims, impacts lives, and supports the prosecution of perpetrators.
“After 20 years of its implementation, many issues have happened, there are emerging trends and other ‘things’ that need to be reconsidered and taken into consideration,” she stated.
The Minister said that more sectors and agencies had joined the national fight against human trafficking, making the need for review more urgent.
“There is a need for the Act to meet the needs of Ghanaian… It is important to look at what we have done so far, where the challenges are and the bottlenecks around the implementation of the Act, because it should not be just an Act that is lasting forever.
“It should be live and actually a reflection of the issues that are emerging,” she stressed.
The Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694), was enacted to prevent, reduce, and punish human trafficking and to provide for the rehabilitation and reintegration of trafficked persons.
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