The Unit, in partnership with the International Centre for Safe Migration, marked the African Union International Border Day on Friday by shedding light on the escalating issue of human trafficking and the associated illicit activities occurring across African borders, calling for a united commitment to combating these transgressions.

Assistant Superintendent of Immigration (ASI), Justice Kudzo Normeshie, the Officer-in-Charge of the AHSTIP Unit, GIS at the Aflao Sector Command, emphasised the importance of raising public awareness in the fight against human trafficking, citing the challenging conditions prevalent in many African countries that render individuals more vulnerable to such exploitation.

“The current trends in migration across our ECOWAS corridors, triggered by climate change, harsh economic conditions for the youth, political instabilities, threats of terrorism among others, have forced the youth to be on the move for survival.

Desperate as they are, most of them, especially children, girls and women end up falling into the hands of Traffickers and Smugglers who promise them lucrative jobs but end up exploiting them sexually, through forced prostitution.”

He said boys and men were equally being exploited through forced labour, forced criminal activities such as cybercrimes, perpetuating fraud activities as well as organ harvest in worse cases while “children, are mostly pushed into forced begging which we can witness in the big cities within the sub-region.”

ASI Normeshie indicated the Unit’s success in the fight against human trafficking and noted that they had over the years, “rescued several victims of trafficking and smuggling, reunited them with their families and referred perpetrators to the Headquarters for prosecutions.”

He assured that with the recent inauguration of the Aflao Transitional Shelter, made possible through the support of international partners, the AHSTIP Unit of the GIS Aflao Sector Command was better positioned to protect these vulnerable migrants, provide them with psychological counselling among other needs and, to effectively prosecute perpetrators.

“We’re therefore calling on the general public to support our team by donating something no matter how small to the shelter to help us feed victims and cater for their other needs. Because they normally come to very deplorable states.

And we need these supports to fix their lives, give them a treat for them to know that the world still loves them and that they can restart their lives,” he said to the Ghana News Agency.

The day which saw the Unit collaborate with the Togolese counterparts to facilitate the sharing of flyers and educational materials on human trafficking at the Togo side of the border, had teams board TSR and ABC buses, bound for Niger and Nigeria respectively to educate travelers onboard, on the need to be vigilant and not fall preys to human traffickers.

The African Union Border Day is celebrated annually on June 7 to promote peace, security, and stability across the continent with emphasis on the importance of harmonious borders for Africa’s development.