Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Ghana (Ratification: 1957)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Institutional and legal framework. The Committee notes that the Government informs in its report about the adoption of the new National Plan of Action (NPA) for the Elimination of Human Trafficking in Ghana 2022-2026 which, in addition to providing for actions for prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships, includes a component on monitoring, evaluation and research. Key interventions envisaged by the Plan include: (i) strengthening the capacity of the Human Trafficking Management Board to effectively monitor the implementation of the Plan; (ii) a cross-sectoral communication strategy and sensitization activities at national, regional, district and community levels; (iii) reviewing the regulatory framework for combating human trafficking; and (iv) actions to expedite prosecution of trafficking cases. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the new NPA and the fact that its development was preceded by an assessment of the implementation of the 2017-2021 NPA in which all stakeholders participated, including victims of trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken under the NPA for the Elimination of Human Trafficking in Ghana 2022-2026, including information on the measures taken to strengthen the Human Trafficking Management Board to monitor, support and address bottlenecks in the implementation of the NPA as well as on the mid-term implementation assessment of the NPA. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the review of the current anti-trafficking legislation.

2. Effective application of the law. The Committee notes that the Government has strengthened the capacities of over 700 officials from law enforcement bodies, including judges, prosecutors, migration officers and the police, to effectively detect, investigate and prosecute cases of trafficking in persons. The Government indicates that from October 2021 to July 2022, a total of 22 prosecutions were initiated for trafficking in persons, and 10 convictions involving 16 persons were handed down. The Committee observes that, as noted in the previous comments, in various cases offenders were only sanctioned with fines or a prison term of one month. The Committee once again stresses that a fine or a short prison sentence do not constitute effective and dissuasive sanctions for the illegal exaction of forced labour (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 319). Moreover, the Committee notes that according to section 2 of the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 a person who traffics another person for the purpose of labour or sexual exploitation is liable to imprisonment for a term not less than five years. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to continue to take measuresto ensure that sufficiently dissuasive and effective sanctions are applied for the offence of trafficking in persons, in accordance with section 2 of the Human Trafficking Act, 2005, and to provide information in this respect.

3. Protection of victims. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that 821 victims of trafficking in persons (589 men and 232 women) were rescued and received reintegration and rehabilitation assistance from the Government. According to the detailed information communicated by the Government, rescued victims were provided with shelter, meal, health care, clothing, legal and psychological support, as well as skills training and educational support. The Committee recalls that the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 established the Human Trafficking Fund to support the tracing of the families of the victims of trafficking, as well as the victims’ rehabilitation, reintegration and capacity building (section 22), and observes that the Human Trafficking Prohibition (Protection and Reintegration of Trafficked Persons) Regulations, 2015 provides for a detailed procedure for victims to obtain access to that fund. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of victims of trafficking in persons who have obtained support by the Human Trafficking Fund for family tracing, rehabilitation, reintegration, or capacity-building, including information on the applications that have been rejected, if any, and the reasons for such rejection.

Article 2(2)(c). Work of prisoners for private companies. The Committee notes that, according to information contained in the official website of the Ghana Prison Service, the Prison Service intends to participate in public-private partnership programs to embark on large scale production of maize and oil palm, as well as livestock. The Committee recalls in this regard that section 42(3) of the Prison Service Act, 1972 provides that prisoners can perform work outside the prison premises, and does not exclude the possibility for them to work for private entities. In these circumstances, the Committee wishes to recall the principle that work by convicted prisoners for private entities is not compatible with the Convention except when such work is performed by prisoners under a free labour relationship, without being subjected to pressure or the menace of any penalty, and on the basis of their free, formal, and informed consent. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether agreements have been signed between the Prison Service and private companies that provide for the work of inmates, and, if so, to indicate how it is ensured that prisoners give their free, formal, and informed consent for such work and that their conditions of work approximate those of a free labour relationship.