He opined that this is largely due to the absence of official identification documents from either Ghana or The Gambia.
Early this year, an assessment was conducted by the Gambia Refugees Commission under the Gambia Immigration Department, UNHRC the Gambia Food and Nutrition Association (GAFNA) on the issue of statelessness in Ghana Town by targeting individuals aged 18 and above.
According to the assessment report, the Ghana Town was established in the early 60s by Ghanaian migrants who have settled for over five decades with children born in the country without Gambian or Ghanaian documents thus making them outlawed.
“Of those surveyed, 542 individuals were born in The Gambia and 134 in Ghana. Despite the community’s existence since 1961—established by Ghanaian fishermen—many residents have lived in the country without any formal recognition of citizenship,” Hon. Darboe flagged.
“Under current Gambian law, individuals born in the country to non-Gambian parents do not automatically acquire citizenship, leaving many, especially the younger generation, highly vulnerable to statelessness and the associated socio-economic exclusion.”
The findings from this assessment were presented to the National Assembly in February this year, through the Select Committee on Health, Refugees, Disaster, and Humanitarian Relief.
“The presentation included key recommendations to simplify the naturalization process and implement inclusive policies that would provide legal recognition and protection to long-term residents who regard The Gambia as their permanent home.”
According to 2021 data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The Gambia hosted a total of 4,643 persons of concern, comprising 4,429 recognised refugees and 214 asylum seekers.
“The majority of these refugees—4,056 individuals—originated from Senegal, while others included 162 from Côte d’Ivoire, 105 from Sierra Leone, and 63 from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).”
“The gender distribution among this population was relatively balanced, with 2,262 females and 2,121 males, most of whom fell within the age bracket of 18–59.”
