Elmina initiates steps to ensure that child labour and trafficking end

A year-long Action Plan on Child Labour and Trafficking (CLaT) has been launched for the people of Elmina in the Komenda-Edina – Eguafo Abrem (KEEA) District of the Central Region.

The Action Plan was proposed and drafted by the Community Child Protection Committee and the Community Anti-Child Labour and Trafficking advocates.

It is geared towards the fight against cross-border trafficking and the worst forms of child labour in fishing communities.

The eight-page document also seeks to eliminate unapproved fishing practices and promote modern methods of fishing, preservation, processing, packaging and storing to provide a diversified sources of livelihood for the community members who are mostly fishermen and fishmongers.

It is being supervised by the Central and Western Fishmongers Improvement Association (CEWEFIA) under the Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP) by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Plan would among others create a child protection fund to support victims of CLaT, institute and implement sanctions against perpetrators.

It also seeks to educate the community on child rights and anti-trafficking laws as well as pressurizing the appropriate institutions to perform their duties.

Elmina is one of the oldest fishing communities with an estimated population of about 165,620 which accommodates migrant fisherfolks from other areas, a situation which has given rise to child labour and trafficking activities in that area.

Household surveys conducted by the SFMP in 2015 revealed that CLaT was widely practiced in the fishing communities of which Moree was part and had worsened in recent times due to declining fish harvest.

This compelled CEWEFIA to form Community Anti-Child Labour and Trafficking advocates and Community Child Protection Committees in fishing communities within the Central Region.

Speaking at the launch, Madam Cecilia Arthur, Community Child Protection Committee Chairperson for CEWEFIA, expressed the hope that the Action Plan would provide lasting solution to the identified problems in the community.

She said CEWEFIA would liase with savings and loans institutions to support the fisherfolks with fexible loans to expand their businesses and the living standards of community members.

As part of the Plan, community members would be educated on the rules and regulations covering fishing so that they adhered to proper fishing practices.

Mrs Victoria Koomson, Executive Director of CEWEFIA, applauded the initiative of the community child protection committees and the Community Anti-Child Labour and Trafficking advocates to help curb child labour and trafficking concerns in the area.

She called for harmonised engagement between the chiefs, opinion leaders, anti-trafficking civil society organisations, religious bodies and community members to fight child labour and human trafficking.

GNA

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