Asylum Seeking in International Politics: Ghana as a Safe Haven in West Africa

Abstract

Asylum seeking have had an impact on every country on the planet in some fashion. States that do not produce asylum seekers are affected by the refugee crisis whether or not they provide relief to refugees. The term refugee applies to any individual who has escaped persecution and have gained the legal right to stay in the country of protection while an asylum seeker is an individual who have escaped persecution and whose claim for protection in the asylum country is yet to be determined. The West have been associated with being a safe haven for refugees with the highest intake of refugees. However, African countries including Ghana have contributed to tackling refugee crises in the world today but the literature pays less attention to them. Using the rational choice theory, the macro and the meso migration theory, this thesis argued that Ghana is a safe haven for asylum seekers and as such enhances the state’s relation with the home countries of the displaced persons. Using case study under the qualitative research approach, the study discovered that family ties, geographical factors, and language are some of the pull factors of asylum seekers to Ghana. It also revealed that despite challenges such as discrimination faced by refugees, Ghana satisfies the major indicators of a safe haven which includes provision of health, security, shelter, livelihood support and training and educational needs that ensure continuity of life for refugees in West African. The study, recommends that there should be policy improvement that should include labour law for refugees that is void of discrimination. In all, the study provides information for the recognition and contributions of Ghana to global refugee issues.