Ghana’s Management of Refugees’ Issues

ABSTRACT

This long essay examines the Ghana’s management of Refugees’ issues. It looked at the total number of persons of concern in Ghana and their demographic characteristics. It also look at the Ghana’s strategy in managing refugees crises at the various Refugee Camps and urban areas in the country. The study specifically investigate three main questions, the number of PoCs in the country and their countries of origin. The socio-demographic characteristics of the PoCs. The strategies Government of Ghana is using to manage the refugees’ situation in the country and the challenges the GoG is facing managing the refugees and the asylum seekers in the country. The problem is that Ghana has been hosting refugees and asylum seekers from over 38 countries across the globe since the influx generated by the political crisis of the West Africa sub-region in the early 1990s. Refugee management in Ghana is mandated by the PNDC Law 305 (D) of 1992, the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees; and the 1969 OAU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. By the end of 2016, almost 80 percent of the total refugee population from the sub-region had returned to their various countries of origin. However, there remains in the country a sizeable number of refugees and asylum seekers who have declared intentions not to go back to their countries of origin, (and are also not in a position to be weaned off humanitarian assistance which has been increasingly curtailed and unable to meet growing needs and challenges).

The country currently hosts about thirteen thousand, one hundred and thirty-two (13,132) refugees and asylum seekers. The largest group of six thousand, nine hundred and eighty-four (7042) Persons of Concern (PoC) are Ivorians. There are also people considered to be living in refugee like situations; and former refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone no longer covered or were granted exemption from Cessation Clauses residing in the urban areas especially at the Buduburam camp. About half of the total PoC live in camps with the remaining living in urban and semi-urban areas. Presently, there are three (3) Ivorian camps: Ampain in the Western Region, Egyeikrom in the Central Region and Fetentaa in the Brong-Ahafo Region and one (1) mixed population camp at Krisan in the Western Region. This is the main reason why I have decided to carried out the research on the PoCs.