The Ghana Refugee Board was established under the Ghana Refugee Law 1992 (PNDCL 305D), and is charged with the management of activities relating to

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. It is under the control of the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

Functions of the board

The main preoccupation of the Refugee Board is with refugees. Its functions include: *interviewing individuals seeking refugee status *granting refugee status to

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

s from areas of civil conflict or places where they face political persecution. *oversight over all

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

s in the country. The board also cooperates with other agencies to carry out its mandate, as it did in March 2011 faced with an influx of refugees from

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

(Ivory Coast), who had fled during the

Second Ivorian Civil War The Second Ivorian Civil War broke out in March 2011 when the crisis in Ivory Coast escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Ivory Coast since 2000, and supporters of the international ...

Head of the board

The head of the Refugee Board is Chairman Kenneth Dzirasah. Dzirasah was the Former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and succeeded Emmanuel Owusu Bentil.

Liberian refugees

The Budumburam Camp in the Central Region of Ghana is home to over 11,000

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

n refugees. These refugees have lived in the camp for over two

decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

s since they fled the civil war in that country. In 2008, about 500 Liberian refugees in the camp embarked on an "indefinite

sit-down strike A sit-down strike is a labour strike and a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at factories or other centralized locations, take unauthorized or illegal possession of the workplace by "sitting do ...

". This was to draw attention to the perceived unsatisfactory arrangements to have them repatriated to Liberia in that year. Of the 11,000 Liberian refugees, only 198 have accepted repatriation back to Liberia as of 2008. The refugees are requesting resettlement in another country, but the Refugee Board maintains that no country is willing to accept them. The Refugee Board has now prepared plans for integrating in Ghana those refugees who are not repatriated, a move which is being strongly opposed by the refugees.

Refugees from Côte d'Ivoire

In March 2011, refugees fleeing the fighting in the

entered Ghana. In total, some 116,000 Ivorians fled to eight West African countries, including Ghana,

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Ghana received 3,129 new refugees, mainly from the Ivorian capital of

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

and its suburbs. The UNHCR set up a transit centre at the

Elubo Elubo is a town in the Jomoro district, a district in the Western Region of Ghana. Location and geography Location Elubo is a town in the western region of Ghana almost on the border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, i ...

border crossing. The Refugee Board partnered with the UNHCR and Ghanaian state agencies such as NADMO to assist these refugees. After the setting up of the transit centre, the Refugee Board is looking for land to convert into a temporary shelter for the refugees, ahead of building a more permanent place in the Elembelle constituency. The UNHCR also set up a refugee camp in the town of Ampain that could hold 3,000 people.

References

{{authority control Ministries and Agencies of State of Ghana 1992 establishments in Ghana

Functions of the board

Head of the board

Liberian refugees

Refugees from Côte d'Ivoire

See also

References