Parliament Must take Steps to Amend Human Trafficking and Children Acts to Regulate NGOs Activities-MP for Afram Plains North
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Afram Plains North, Hon Betty Nana Efua Krosby Mensah has called on parliament to take step to amend the Children Act and the Human Trafficking Act 694 and Children Act 560 to regulate activities of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that engaged in exploring funds under cover of combating child trafficking.
According to her, the expose by the BBC Africa Eye about the activities of a USA based International Justice Mission (IJM), was grounds enough to amend the laws to protect children and their parents from the harm causes by such NGOs.
The documentary showed an anti-human trafficking scheme where children are wrongfully identified as victims.
The BBC exposé also revealed that children who were happily living with their relatives were unjustifiably removed from their homes without any evidence of going through one form of labour or the other.
Reacting this in a statement delivered on the floor of parliament on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, Hon Betty Krosbi said NGOs like IJM are engaged in such act only to meet their targets and do not care whether the children rescued are actually victims.
She said she was not surprised at the exposé the BBC’s probe into the activities of IJM and other NGOs who claim to rescue trafficked children.
While condemning the IJM activities which has been exposed by the BBC, Hon Krosby Mensah expressed concern publication that suggest there is pervasive child trafficking in communities along the Lake Volta.
In her view, she does not believe the objectives of these NGOs are actually to rescue child trafficking victims.
Hon Betty Krosby therefore called for directives that can be implemented to reduce the activities of these NGOs and protect Ghanaian children.
“And so with me, I don’t think the objective was rescue because of course, when it comes to issues of trafficking, there are serious matters that need to be addressed.
“However, I feel that their mode of operating or their way of going about their business is not one of the best, and I feel we should regulate their activities and see how best we can protect the ordinary Ghanaian child, as well as making sure that real perpetrators are brought to book,” the Afram Plains North MP stressed.
For that, she called for the legislative body to investigate the activities of IJM in Ghana.
Parliament, she added should reconsider the country’s anti-human trafficking laws which she says are often exploited by NGOs.
“We are MPs coming from various constituencies and I must tell you that when it comes to this IJM issue, it’s not just limited to fishing communities, they go to farming communities as well so every MP that has some rural constituency to his name should be concerned about the issue.”
She Spoke to EXPRESS NEWS TV
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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