AN OVERVIEW OF THE OVERSEAS PROSECUTORIAL DEVELOPMENT AND

UNCLAS ACCRA 000674 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W AND INL USDOJ FOR MARIE-FLORE KOUAME E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL SNAR KCRM KJUS KWMN GH SUBJECT: AN OVERVIEW OF THE OVERSEAS PROSECUTORIAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING (OPDAT) PROGRAM IN GHANA -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On November 19, 2007, the OPDAT Intermittent Legal Advisor (ILA) arrived at post and commenced her Trafficking in Person (TIP) Program. To date, the OPDAT ILA has trained law enforcement officers from the Ministry of Women and Children (MOWAC),the Department of Social Welfare (DSW),the media, the Ghana Police Service, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID),the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS),the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS),and the Domestic Violence Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU). The OPDAT ILA has also monitored reports of TIP and has provided legal guidance and advice to Interpol and CID in their pending TIP cases. End Summary. -------------- TRAININGS AND NGO PARTICIPATION -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Since the inception of the training program, the OPDAT ILA has conducted twice-weekly trainings on a variety of topics including, (1) Ghana's Human Trafficking Act of 2005 (legislative intent and legal analysis),(2) Trafficking in Persons (TIP) sensitization, (3) available social services for TIP victims, (4) psychological profiles of exploited victims, (5) interviewing and building rapport with victims, (6) evidence gathering techniques, (6) interagency collaboration in victim rescue efforts, and (7) promoting regional West African law enforcement collaboration regarding TIP cases. The training modules are facilitated by the ILA and include lectures by both the ILA and invited resource persons--including competent local clinical psychologists, local and international NGOs and, by video-conference, federal agents and Nigerian law enforcement counterparts in order to ensure that Ghana-specific, regional and culture-specific information is being provided to the class members. ¶3. (SBU) The training participants from the CID, Ghana's equivalent of the FBI, included officers from a variety of sections within the CID-including the Crime Scene Bureau, Violent Crime, Firearms, Fraud, Organized Crime and the Courts Unit. The Courts Unit is composed of police-prosecutors who are tasked with prosecuting many, if not most, of the human trafficking cases. ¶4. (SBU) The following NGOs have participated in one or more of the training modules: the International Organization of Migration (IOM),the Rescue Foundation of Ghana, and the Legal Resource Center of Ghana. The ILA is currently working with UNICEF, CID and GIS to coordinate a national law enforcement anti-TIP conference, which will jointly train Police, Immigration and CEPS officers. The ILA is also working with Interpol and GIS to plan a UNICEF-sponsored TIP training in Ghana. This training will include law enforcement counterparts from Cote d'Ivoire who are interested in developing their own training program. The program will also prepare Ghanaian and Ivorian law enforcement officers for future cross-border anti-TIP law enforcement operations. -------------- THE JANUARY BROTHEL RAID AND ITS AFTERMATH -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Soon after the ILA's arrival at post, the ILA received information that a large number of girls were being trafficked to brothels in Accra for commercial sexual exploitation. There was heightened concern for the victims due to an expected increase in demand during the African Cup of Nations football tournament, which began on January 20, 2008. Since the police officers would be the first to address allegations of human trafficking, both from an investigative and prosecutorial standpoint, and due to the quickly approaching commencement of the tournament, the ILA began her OPDAT program by building the capacity of the "first responders," the police. On the evening of January 19, 2008, a raid was conducted on a brothel in Accra by members of CID. The raid resulted in the arrest of approximately 78 male clients and the rescue/removal of approximately 160 women and children. Ghanaian media reports and government officials hailed the raid as the largest raid involving commercial sexual exploitation conducted in Ghana's history. The consensus opinion is that CID did a good job conducting the raid. However, the governmental agencies responsible for the victim-protection aspects of this case, namely MOWAC and DSW, unfortunately, due to their inexperience in handling cases such as this, were not as adequately prepared for the volume of adults and children that were recovered from the brothel. As a result, most of the alleged victims have left the shelter facilities. ¶6. (SBU) In an effort to improve MOWAC's and DSW's capacity to handle such cases, the ILA developed a training program that allowed both agencies to receive training with members of DOVVSU. Together, MOWAC, DSW and DOVVSU not only learned about the law with respect to TIP, but they also discussed the roles and capacity of the various agencies in rescuing TIP victims and they obtained a clearer understanding of the mandates of the relevant organizations in such cases. Additionally, one of the final training modules for this group included a video-conference with representatives from the Nigerian Authority for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). This video-conference highlighted methods for improving the capacity of Ghana's Human Trafficking Management Board, involved discussions regarding recent and on-going cases involving TIP criminal organizations (at least one of which has a nexus to Ghana), fostered interagency collaboration between NAPTIP and Ghana's law enforcement and social service agencies, and appeared to motivate the participants to strive to create a NAPTIP-like paradigm in Ghana. In addition to the student participants, the ILA also invited local and international NGOs that actively engage in TIP victim rescue efforts to attend and participate in the discussion. -------------- FUTURE TRAININGS -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The ILA is currently working with G/TIP to provide more follow-up intensive training to law enforcement, social service agencies and NGOs on responding to cases involving large numbers of victims who have been subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. This training is expected to occur in mid-June. The ILA also expects to train members of the Judiciary and additional prosecutors in June. --- The ILA continues to provide legal advice to the Ambassador, the DCM, and the Political Section chief and members of their staff on issues involving TIP. The ILA attends Country Team and Core Meetings and regularly contributes information during such meetings. The ILA also acted as an alternate control officer for Bobby Pittman, Jr., Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council, during President Bush's visit to Ghana in February 2008. BRIDGEWATER