'Child Traffickers Deserve Stiffer Punishment'

THE Chief of Mission, International Organisation of Migration,  Davide Terzi, has advocated stiffer punishment for child traffickers to serve as  deterrent to others.

Speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between his outfit and the anti-human trafficking unit of the Ghana Police Service in Accra, he said even though the Police, civil society organisations and other organisations have joined forces to fight human trafficking, the practice still existed.

The 6,204 US dollar MOU, among other things, would cover the refurbishment of the anti-trafficking unit at the Criminal Investigation Department at the Police Headquarters, as well as undertake a field trip to areas where child trafficking is prevalent.

Mr. Terzi noted that child trafficking is one of the worst human right abuses which ought to be discouraged by all.

He wondered how such a practice should still exist in the 21st century and noted that there were unscrupulous people who hid behind up coming events to take people  abroad under the pretext of providing them with jobs.  

Unfortunately, he said, many of the people sent there were made to engage in menial jobs, while the women and young girls were forced into prostitution and other unwarranted jobs.

Mr. Terzi said a number of illegal migrants who tried to seek greener pastures abroad died either on the desert or on the high seas simply because they did not possess the required travelling documents.  

He was, however impressed with the transformation and development taking place in the country, which he said were all indications of how far Ghana had  come.

The Deputy Director General of the Police Criminal Investigation Department, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ken Yeboah, was grateful to the International Organisation of Migration and assured that the Police would intensify its course to fight human trafficking and other crime related offences.

He further assured that any assistance given to the police to fight organised crime among others could not be over-emphasised.

Later in an interview, the head of the police anti-trafficking unit, Deputy  Superintendent of Police Patience Quaye, said the assistance received would go a long way to facilitate the operations as far as trafficking was concerned.

DSP Quaye made a passionate appeal through the Times for other organisations  go to their aid by providing them with resources to boost their operations.