VZCZCXRO7116
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #1606/01 2121642
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311642Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5009
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0345

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 001606 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KOCI KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL GH
SUBJECT: Trafficking in Persons Report Rollout in Ghana 
 
REF:  State 71163 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: PolChief and Human Rights Coordinator recently met 
with senior Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC) 
officials to discuss the 2007 Trafficking and Persons (TIP) Report. 
MOWAC reps were disappointed with Ghana's Tier 2 ranking and asked 
that any reference to the Grace Coleman extradition case be removed 
from next year's narrative. GOG officials outlined several steps 
Ghana is taking to combat TIP, but local NGO sources questioned the 
effectiveness of these efforts. Post recently hosted an event to 
honor Patience Quaye, who was chosen as one of the Department's 
eight TIP Heroines for 2007.  End Summary. 
 
MEETING WITH MINISTRY OFFICIALS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On June 13 PolChief and Democracy and Human Rights 
Coordinator met with the Chief Director of the Ministry of Women and 
Children's Affairs (MOWAC), Valentine Kuuzume, and the Desk Officer 
for Trafficking, Marilyn Annan, to discuss Ghana's Tier 2 ranking in 
the TIP Report this year.  The Chief Director appreciated that the 
country narrative recognized some of Ghana's efforts in combating 
trafficking.  He reiterated the need for funding in the area of 
victim rehabilitation and was disappointed that the embassy had not 
done as much as he would have liked to support anti-trafficking 
activities by MOWAC. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Trafficking Desk Officer, Marilyn Annan, said that she 
was particularly disappointed in the ranking since she believed that 
the GoG had done more than enough to ensure a Tier 1 ranking.  She 
also requested that future reports remove the portion of the 
narrative regarding the extradition of Member of Parliament Grace 
Coleman. Annan thought the Coleman issue had been blown out of 
proportion.  PolChief was firm that Coleman had violated U.S. law 
and we would not be removing her from our TIP report.  He also 
reminded her that the Embassy had sent several diplomatic notes to 
the MFA requesting Coleman's extradition but we have received no 
response. 
 
¶4. (U) Kuuzume told us that even though President Kufuor had not 
formally signed the paper creating the Human Trafficking Board 
(HTB), he has authorized it to begin working and it will be formally 
commissioned later.  The MOWAC officials also informed us that the 
Human Trafficking Fund (HTF) is up and running.  The GoG has already 
committed 100 million cedis ($9,250) to the fund, all of which has 
been spent on rescuing "kayaye," or street children, and 
rehabilitating them before they are sent back to their families, 
according to Kuuzume. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The MOWAC officials went on to describe several projects 
that their ministry is implementing to combat trafficking, some of 
which included the creation of a national database for trafficking 
victims, identification of women eligible for micro-finance from 
MOWAC in Yeiji, assistance given to fishermen in Yeiji to encourage 
them to release trafficked children. 
 
CEREMONY TO HONOR TIP HEROINE 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Post recently organized an event to officially present 
Patience Quaye with her TIP Heroine 2007 award.  The Ambassador gave 
remarks and attendees included approximately 40 members of the 
judiciary, parliamentarians, NGO representatives, civil society 
organizations and media.  Quaye expressed gratitude to the 
Department of State for recognition of her efforts and Joanna 
Sarpong, the Director of Human Resources for the Ghana Police, who 
filled in for the Inspector General of Police, thanked Quaye as well 
as the embassy for our joint efforts to combat trafficking.  The 
event received coverage in several prominent newspapers and Quaye 
was also interviewed live about the award on one of Ghana's radio 
stations. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The demarche on the TIP tier ranking and our public event 
helped reinforce our TIP message.  However, MOWAC's response was 
disappointing.  At the TIP rollout ceremony, contacts from UNICEF, 
IOM and ILO discounted MOWAC's claimed recent successes.  UNICEF, 
for example, has provided a computer and training for a national 
database, but a UNICEF contact said that MOWAC is no closer to 
attaining this objective now than they were in February when an 
inter-agency trafficking committee last met.  UNICEF also confirmed 
that they have funds set aside for the Human Trafficking Fund but 
are not willing to give it to MOWAC until the Board is formally 
established by President Kufuor.  Although MOWAC told us the Board 
has been established, it has yet to provide us with a list of Board 
members.  Although there were conflicting events in town, we were 
disappointed no one from MOWAC attended our event for Quaye.  We 
will look for ways to more effectively engage MOWAC on TIP, 
including ensuring their participation in up-coming TIP law 
 
ACCRA 00001606  002 OF 002 
 
 
enforcement training. 
 
 
 
BRIDGEWATER