The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Darkoa Newman, has called on member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to incorporate the views of women into policies to combat Transnational Organised Crimes (TOCs) in the sub-region.
TOCs are organised crimes coordinated across national borders, involving groups or individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute illegal business ventures through violence and corruption and it includes human trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorist financing.
According to her, women bore the brunt of TOCs and thus their perspectives must be brought to bear on policies to curb such menace.
Ms Newman stated this in a speech read on her behalf by a Deputy Director of the Ministry of Gender. Children and Social Protection, Vera Karikari Bediako, during the opening of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) roundtable programme on impact of transnational organised crime on women, in Accra yesterday.
The Minister said considering the active role women played in TOCs, it was crucial women were actively involved in programmes and policies to combat the menace.
The three-day programme which opened yesterday and would end on Thursday is on the theme “GIABA-EGDC Regional Roundtable Forum on Transnational Organised Crime Risk for Women in West Africa.”
It is being attended by 50 participants mostly women from government agencies and civil society organisations from all the ECOWAS Member states.
Ms Newman said TOCs were on the rise across West Africa and posed significant risks to women in the sub-region.
She said the roundtable forum was timely as it brought together decision makers from ECOWAS Member States and other key stakeholders to foster dialogue and build consensus on integrating women’s perspectives into the fifth against TOC in the sub-region.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Intelligence Centre, Mr Kwaku Dua, said Ghana had enacted the necessary legal framework and strengthened institutions to fight TOC.
Mr Dua who is the National Correspondent of GIABA, said the workshop was another stride by GIABA to tackle TOC which affected all the persons in the sub-region especially women.
The Commissioner, Human Development and Social Affairs, ECOWAS Commission, Professor Fatou Sarr Sow, in a speech read on her behalf by the Principal Programme Officer of EGDC, Salimata Thiam, said the programme was to promote the security of women and fight against TOCs in West Africa.
She said terrorist financing, human and drug trafficking posed a threat to the development of ECOWAS and women and the programme was to come out with solution to address them.
The Director-General of GIABA, Mr Edwin W. Harris, in a speech read by the Acting Director of Evaluation and Compliance Directorate, Dr Jeffery Isima, said GIABA viewed money laundering as the mother of all crimes and criminal activities and said women were victims, facilitators, as well as instrument for the prevention of TOCs.
Mr Harris entreated ECOWAS member states to collaborate and expose perpetrators of TOCs, sayings “TOC criminals don’t fear jail, but what they fear is being associated with dirty money.”
