World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

World day against Trafficking in Persons is celebrated every July 30 since 2013 to raise awareness about the harms of human trafficking and protect victim's rights. It is also meant to sensitize the world that it is a complex international problem that requires  collaboration.

Trafficking in persons is a crime in international law. Article 3(a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children provides the sole internationally accepted definition of trafficking in persons:

Trafficking in Persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include at a minimum the exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of human organs.

According to the 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Ghana, the Government of Ghana does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. They have made strides in identifying more victims and caring for them while investigating trafficking cases to prosecute and sentence convicted traffickers.

Projects like Digitally enhancing child trafficking surveillance in Ghana are contributing their bit in tackling this obstacle in peace and development. The Child Protection Compact (CPC) partnership in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration sought the services of Bewsys to establish a database system for child trafficking data collection, analysis, and dissemination in Ghana. Bewsys designed and developed the database system to feature the highest standards of data protection and victim confidentiality throughout data collection, sharing, analysis, and reporting. The gruesome experiences of vulnerable populations from human trafficking are best understood with aggregate and accurate data. The system continues to support the government of Ghana, social protection agencies, and other key stakeholders to progress in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially good health and wellbeing, eradicating forced labour and modern slavery, ending poverty, and reducing inequalities. 

Click here to read about the project details.