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Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, the Right Hon. Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye has instructed African parliamentarians to badociate with their British counterparts to fight the threat of human trafficking and modern slavery on the continent.
According to him, trafficking in human beings and forced labor is not only a crime against humanity, it is also detrimental to the development of the least favored countries of the African subregion and must be smothered by strict regulation.
It brings together the support of Commonwealth parliamentarians to lobby for increased investment in the fight against modern slavery and human trafficking that has destabilized and destroyed families in Africa.
The Right Hon Prof Mike Oquaye made this call at the opening ceremony of a three day workshop and a conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in Accra on Tuesday, June 11th.
The theme of the three-day workshop was "Regional Expert Workshop: The Role of Parliamentary Committees in Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor".
The President called on the continent's parliamentarians to use their influence and powers to fight against all acts of forced labor and human trafficking.
He stressed the need for legislators to ensure that the government invests funds in the fight against human trafficking, especially children, and modern slavery.
"This is an opportunity to exchange notes, to exchange ideas on how best to fight this problem, Africa is now their source or the destination of these criminal activities because of poverty.They (the traffickers) come and take our children into forced labor away from poverty and bring them back into poverty, "said Prof.
The President added that it was high time that parliamentarians take the initiative to fight against what has been internationally recognized as an illegal activity, a violation of the fundamental rights of the human person which has led to an increase of poverty among families and countries in Africa.
He also urged CPA members to consider measures to improve and strengthen anti-trafficking laws to ensure the relevance and up-to-date of these laws.
The President said that as part of the measures to combat human trafficking and forced child labor, the Government of Ghana set up a secretariat in 2016 on human trafficking in the country. intention of the police, to arrest and punish the perpetrators.
L & # 39; Hon. Kate Osamor, of the British Parliament, provided optimal support to strengthen the laws of the Commonwealth countries to combat human trafficking and forced labor.
Ms. Adeline Dumoulin, CPA Project Manager, said the workshop was needed because more than 40 million people were victims of human trafficking and forced labor, more than half of them in Commonwealth countries.
According to her, parliamentarians with both access and influence in their communities play a unique and important role in the fight against this heinous crime and, by extension, parliamentary committees have the power to present research, to scrutinize the laws and monitor the implementation.
The three-day workshop will bring together parliamentary committee members from the parliaments of Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia, the United Kingdom and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The CPA UK Modern Slavery Project, an initiative of the UK Parliament, aimed to bring together Commonwealth parliamentarians to share ideas on how to tackle the devastating crime of human trafficking and forced labor.
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