30 June 2013 Refugee Documentation Centre Country Information Pack GHANA Disclaimer Country Information Packs (CIPs) are prepared by researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Refugee Documentation Centre within time constraints. CIPs contain a selection of representative links to sources under a number of categories for use as Country of Origin Information. Please note that CIPs are not, and do not purport to be, exhaustive with regard to conditions in the countries surveyed or conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or protection. The General Human Rights Reports category contains links to information which may be useful for a number of the other categories. List of contents: Asylum Seekers/IDPs/Internal Flight Conflict/Security Crime/Corruption Education General Human Rights Reports Government/Civil Society/Legal Systems Health Local Information/Languages/Culture/Customs Maps Minorities/Ethnic Groups Nationality/Citizenship/Residency Political Press/Media/Freedom of Expression Prisons/Detention/Torture/Slavery Religion/Cults State Protection 1 Women/Children/Family List of Documents 1. Nationality/Citizenship/Residency Ghana Embassy in Japan (undated) Ghana – Dual Citizenship http://www.ghanaembassy.or.jp/consular_section/dual.html Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (3 February 2011) Ghana: The military identification card, including whether simple soldiers receive a different card than that of higher-ranking military personnel; whether the length of military service is defined by contract; the procedure for resigning without being accused of deserting (1999 - 2003) GHA103677.FE http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca:8080/RIR_RDI/RIR_RDI.aspx?id=453323&l=e Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (2 October 2003) Ghana: Update to GHA29191.E of 15 May 1998 on the right to Ghanaian citizenship for a person born in Ghana to a Ghanaian mother and foreign father, who has lived most of her/his life in Ghana, but who has always held the father's citizenship GHA41972.E http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/403dd1f38.html Ministry of the Interior (Undated) Registration of Foreigners as Ghanaian Citizens http://mint.gov.gh/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid= 33 Ministry of the Interior (Undated) Dual Citizenship http://mint.gov.gh/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid= 28 Open Society (October 2010) Citizenship Laws in Africa: A Comparative Study http://www.refworld.org/docid/4cf76b192.html Parliament of the Republic of Ghana (5 January 2001) Citizenship Act, 2000 (Act 591) http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/3eda135a2.pdf Parliament of the Republic of Ghana (7 January 1993) Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (last amended 1996) http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b5850.html 2. Maps 2 CIA (2007) Ghana Physiography https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/cia-maps-publications/map- downloads/Ghana_Physiography.pdf Relief Web (2010) Location Map http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/gha.pdf Relief Web (2 March 2006) Reference Map of Ghana (Government of France) http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/B45DCE531A3CC500852 5712500609229-govfr_REF_gha020306.pdf UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Cartographic Section (February 2006) Ghana http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/ghana.pdf 3. Local Information/Language/ Culture/Customs Africa Guide (undated) Ghana: People and Culture http://www.africaguide.com/country/ghana/culture.htm Australia: Refugee Review Tribunal (24 June 2011) Ghana: 1. Does country information indicate what language would be most commonly spoken by Mamprusis living in Bawku? Does the country information support the contention that most people in Ghana speak Twi? 2. Does the country information indicate that there are significant cultural festivals common to Mamprusis or to Bawku that a person living there for all of his life might be expected to know about? 3. Please provide a background on the tribal violence between Mamprusis and Kusasis in Bawku. Are there any reports of a violent incident in January 2009? 4. Please provide information on the availability of state protection in Bawku in relation to this violence. Is more effective state protection available in other parts of Ghana and if so, are there limitations on this protection? 5. Please provide a map of Ghana showing Bawku. Is it possible to identify a geographical area over which the violence between Mamprusis and Kusasis is concentrated? Is it possible to provide a map of Bawku showing significant landmarks? http://www.refworld.org/docid/4f44ec8d2.html BBC News (10 December 2013) Country Profile Ghana http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1023355.stm CIA (5 June 2013) The World Factbook: Ghana https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html Ethnologue, Languages of The World (2009) Languages of Ghana http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=GH Every Culture (Undated) Culture of Ghana http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Ghana.html 3 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (16 August 2012) Ghana: Consequences of refusing a fetish priest or chieftancy position, and whether there is state protection available http://www.refworld.org/docid/50b73d3d2.html Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (27 May 2005) Ghana: The Asona clan, including languages, geographical locations and whether men are forced to marry their uncle’s daughter, age of marriage, reasons for marriage, consequences of refusal and state protection available (2003-2005) GHA100109.E http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/42df60ed2.html Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (14 September 2004) Ghana: The existence in the region of Ashanti of two different towns with the same name Kokofu; If so, names of the chiefs in both towns and the authority they report to (1994-September 2004) GHA42972.E http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/42df60ed20.html Kwintesssential (Undated) Ghana: Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/ghana.html Refugee Documentation Centre (12 January 2010) Q11451 - What procedures are in place to prevent violent deaths arising from chieftaincy disputes? How does the state protect citizens involved in chieftaincy disputes? http://newlib.lab.ie/uhtbin/hyperion.exe/Q11451 Refugee Documentation Centre (12 January 2010) Q11453 - Are there any records of a person being tortured/killed where they refuse to take up the stool/chieftaincy of a tribe in Ghana? http://newlib.lab.ie/uhtbin/hyperion.exe/Q11453 4. General Human Rights Reports Amnesty International (23 May 2013) Amnesty International Annual Report 2013 - Ghana https://www.amnesty.org/en/region/ghana/report-2013 Freedom House (20 May 2013) Freedom in the World 2013 - Ghana http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/ghana Freedom House (20 September 2012) Countries at the Crossroads 2012 – Ghana http://www.refworld.org/docid/505c1732c.html United Kingdom Border Agency (11 May 2013) Country of Origin (COI) Information Report - Ghana http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/coi/g hana/ghanaCOImay12.pdf?view=Binary 4 United States Department of State (19 April 2013) 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Ghana http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/af/204126.htm Travel.State.Gov (28 March 2013) Ghana - Country Specific Information http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1124.html 5. Conflict/Security Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (July 2009) Voice of Reason: A Ghanaian Practice-Based Vision of Peace building http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/Inequality/workingpaper68.pdf Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (3 February 2011) Whether the government targeted soldiers considered close to the opposition before the 2004 presidential elections; if so, whether these soldiers were arrested, detained, court-martialled or transfered elsewhere (2003) http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/160611/264041_en.html Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (28 April 2004) Ghana: The Ghanaian contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), including the length of tour of duty in Lebanon and where it is stationed while in Ghana (1997-April 2004) GHA42596.E http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/41501c0ae.html Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (20 April 2004) Ghana: Military service, including sanctions for deserting the army (April 2004) GHA42595.E http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/41501c092a.html United States Department of State (5 August 2010) Country Reports on Terrorism 2009: Ghana http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/149835/251072_en.html 6. Minorities/Ethnic Groups BBC News (2 November 2011) Ghana refuses to grant gays' rights despite aid threat http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15558769 Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (October 2008) Citizens and Subjects: Democratisation and Ethnic Identity in Rural Ghana http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/Output/178322/Default.aspx Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (October 2007) Ethnicity, Religion and the State in Ghana and Nigeria: Perceptions from the Street 5 http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/Inequality/wp34.pdf Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (February 2007) The Overwhelming Minority: Traditional Leadership and Ethnic Conflict in Ghana's Northern Region http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/Inequality/wp30.pdf Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (February