Urgent action needed to eliminate slavery, child labour
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Slavery, Ms Gulnara Shahinian, has called for urgent and effective government action to meet the goals of eradicating slavery and worst forms of child labour in Ghana.
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She said Ghana could consolidate the important steps it had taken with strong and sustainable implementation strategies that had measurable impact of risk groups and victims of slavery.
Addressing the media after a visit to some communities in the country, Ms Shahinian noted that further progress on eradicating the various forms of modern day slavery and exploitation in Ghana could only be achieved by putting in place actual implementation and government accountability structures.
Findings on the tour
The rapporteur said she realised on her visit that child labour in its worst forms thrived in some communities, as children continued to be sent to work in fishing communities where they did dangerous work, were deprived of education and were not paid (some were as young as four years).
“Many of these situations of exploitation increasingly occurred in the context of large waves of internal migration from poor rural areas to urban centres and it is critical to invest in areas of origin and to invest heavily in the urban development so that poor informal settlements or slums do not become sourcing centres for all forms of slave labour and trafficking for criminals,” she said.
Government of Ghana
She indicated that the government of Ghana had taken the important step of recognising the existence of slavery, of adopting legislative framework and putting in place a number of institutional mechanisms and programmes such as the adoption of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2015 and commended the government for these efforts.
Ms Shahinian urged the government, working in partnership with other stakeholders, to ensure that these frameworks became genuine tools for change, adding that budgetary allocations from the national budget to relevant ministries, departments and programmes were inadequate.
According to her, using a human rights-based approach could empower all stakeholders, including the government and affected communities, to address these rights and other socio-economic rights from the point of view of good governance and accountability.
During her visit, Ms Shahinian visited various fishing communities in the Lake Volta region, a rehabilitation centre, outdoor markets and other areas in Accra and she also met with law enforcement agencies, government representatives, victims, traditional leaders and civil society organisations, among others.
Ms Shahinian will present findings of the visit to the Human Rights Council in September 2014.
