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U.S. Labor Secretary Visits with Victims of Child Trafficking in Ghana

Chao also visits Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin

Washington -- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao December 20 met with children at the Kokrobite primary school outside of Accra, Ghana, many of who have been the victims of child trafficking -- exploitative labor and the sex trade -- earlier in their lives.

The visit and tour was part of Secretary Chao's December 16-21 visit to Africa to highlight continuing efforts to end the worst forms of child labor -- including using children as soldiers and trafficking in children -- and to promote programs in the workplace to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"President George W. Bush has called child trafficking ‘a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life -- an underground of brutality and lonely fear,' and he has urged all governments to end this evil," Secretary Chao told those gathered at the school. "The world community must come together to stop the tragedy of child trafficking. Children are the future of any country and they must be nurtured and protected," she said.

Secretary Chao's remarks were made available to the press in Washington.

During Secretary Chao's visit, she met with nearly 50 children who have been victims of trafficking. In addition to children from Kokrobite, Secretary Chao also visited with students from five schools in nearby villages. The children were trafficked hours away from their home to the Volta Lake region to work in the fishing industry, as divers, net casters and assistants to local fishermen. They were recently returned home, many through a Ministry of Women and Children campaign known as "Bring Your Child Back Home."

The Department of Labor (DOL) through the International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) supports the Kokrobite primary school, located in the Kokrobite Village just outside of Accra.

The Parent and Child Foundation, a local non-governmental organization, runs the school. The foundation pays for students' school fees, provides schoolbooks, supplies and uniforms. Students receive primary education in a number of subjects, including English, Math, Science, Environmental Studies, World Religions and Vocational Skills. Currently, there are approximately 300 students in grades 1-6 enrolled in the school. Children attend classes six hours a day Monday through Friday. The school has an active Parent Teacher Association.

In addition to Kokrobite, the DOL-ILO-IPEC trafficking project provides education to trafficked children in a number of other villages in Ghana. In total, the project aims to assist hundreds of children who have been trafficked or are at risk of being trafficked for exploitative labor. The project in Ghana is part of a larger DOL-funded nine-country ILO-IPEC program in Africa against child trafficking for exploitative employment.

Since 1995, the U.S. Department of Labor has received $313 million to fund international projects aimed at preventing and eliminating the worst forms of child labor. The department has already obligated $275 million of the money received for child labor projects in more than 60 countries. These projects are designed to remove children from hazardous work environments and exploitive conditions, to provide educational opportunities for child laborers and to conduct research and raise awareness about the child labor issue.

The United States is a signatory to ILO Convention No. 182, which condemns the trafficking of children as one of the worst forms of child labor and calls upon countries to assist one another in eliminating all adverse forms of child labor as a matter of urgency.