By Stanley Kwabla Arku
Ghanaian civil society organisations have united under a new national coalition to coordinate efforts against human trafficking, cybercrime, illicit finance and other forms of transnational organised crime.
The Ghana Civil Society Coalition Against Transnational Crime was formally launched in Accra on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, bringing together civil society actors committed to tackling the interconnected nature of organised crime.
The Coalition was formed following a national online forum held on July 30, 2026, World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, under the theme “Trapped Behind the Scam.” The forum was convened by Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) Ghana, the Democratic Network for Action (DNA) and Transnational Mobility Pathways (TMP), with participation from government, regional bodies, survivor networks, the financial and technology sectors, academia, the media and youth groups.
Reading the welcome address on behalf of the Convener, Princess Yanney said the Coalition was established because civil society needed to move away from fragmented responses to trafficking and organised crime.
She said the Coalition would provide a coordinated platform for organisations to work together across different fronts of transnational crime.
“We are just looking so many angles. First, we have to know also that when people are captured against their will, they are forced to become involved in criminal activities. Are they victims or are they the offenders?”
Princess Yanney said the question was particularly important in cases where people were trafficked and subsequently forced to participate in criminal activities.
She said the Coalition would not be limited to discussions but would require participating organisations to commit to concrete action.
“After today, we will have a declaration where people will sign and they will say, moving on, this is one of our mandates to ensure that trafficking is addressed in the proper, orderly manner with a rationalised procedure.”
She said the objective was to establish a stronger working structure through which civil society organisations could jointly address the gaps between trafficking, coercion, recruitment and other forms of transnational crime.
The Coalition’s founding agenda includes screening persons rescued from illicit operations as potential trafficking victims before they are charged or deported, improving the reporting and removal of fraudulent online recruitment content, strengthening cooperation with financial institutions to trace illicit proceeds, and enhancing cross-border protection.
The Coalition is also advocating stronger youth-led prevention, particularly against fraudulent recruitment schemes that lure young people with apparently legitimate job offers before subjecting them to passport confiscation, debt and restricted movement.
In the Convener’s address, the Coalition highlighted the rescue of nine people from a compound at Afienya on July 21, where ten suspects were arrested, as an example of the need to strengthen the protection and follow-up of potential trafficking victims.
The address questioned whether the nine rescued persons had received the necessary assessment and support to determine whether they had been trafficked and forced into criminal activity.
The Coalition therefore adopted as a central position the principle that a person compelled into criminal conduct as a result of trafficking should first be treated as a victim before being considered a suspect.
The initiative brings Ghanaian civil society organisations into a single platform to engage government, the financial sector, technology companies and regional bodies on trafficking for forced criminality and related transnational crimes.
Membership of the Coalition is open to organisations that subscribe to its Charter, while individuals can participate as Coalition Supporters.
