By Patrick Biddah
At the 2025 Ghana-European Union Partnership Dialogue held in Accra on Tuesday, June 17, The Foreign Affairs Minister and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called for urgent reforms to current migrant reception systems, describing them as often “dehumanising and counterproductive.”
Speaking in the presence of President John Dramani Mahama and EU diplomats, Mr. Ablakwa urged the European Union to adopt more humane alternatives to detention for African migrants, especially Ghanaians, who are often held in unsafe or degrading conditions.
“We must uphold the human dignity of all migrants. Migration is not a crime. The reception systems must be compassionate, not punitive,” the Minister said.
He referenced the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, to which both Ghana and several EU states are signatories, as the appropriate framework to guide reforms and ensure rights-based approaches.
The Minister, highlighted growing concern over the treatment of stranded migrants and trafficking victims, many of whom face violence, exploitation, and neglect.
“We are deeply troubled by reports of Ghanaians, especially women and minors, being trafficked across borders and ending up in detention instead of care facilities,” he stated.
Mr. Ablakwa called on the EU to scale up support for legal aid, healthcare access, and psychosocial services for these vulnerable groups.
“Trafficking victims need trauma counselling, not prison walls. They need rehabilitation, not rejection,” he added.
Ghana is currently working with partners to evacuate nationals from crisis zones such as Iran and Israel.
According to the Minister, evacuation through Europe remains the most feasible option, but such operations require greater coordination and logistical support from EU states.
“We appeal for enhanced cooperation in our ongoing evacuation missions. Our stranded citizens, especially those escaping conflict, need swift, safe passage and assistance,” he emphasized.
The EU’s Head of Delegation to Ghana, H.E. Irchad Razaaly, acknowledged the concerns and pledged continued support, adding that the EU remains committed to a migration system based on rights and shared responsibility.
Official data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that over 700 Ghanaian nationals were repatriated from Libya, Turkey, and parts of Eastern Europe between 2022 and 2024, many of whom were victims of trafficking and irregular migration.
Human rights experts warn that without robust support systems in place, repatriated migrants are at risk of falling into the same cycles of vulnerability that drove them abroad in the first place.
The Minister, concluded by calling for the expansion of joint EU-Ghana reintegration programmes.
“Let us invest in the futures of returnees. Skills training, mental health care, and social reintegration are not luxuries—they are necessities.”
As migration continues to shape both domestic and international policy, Ghana’s stance signals a growing demand for equity, compassion, and justice in global migration governance.
