The Minority Caucus of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee has raised a profound concern regarding the news that Ghana has entered into an agreement with the United States to act as a receiving country for other West African countries being deported by the US.
As the Caucus frames it, 14 deportees have since been accepted in Ghana under the deal—an arrangement they term a serious breach of constitutional procedure, a disregard for the sovereignty of Ghana, and a tarnish on the nation's foreign policy reputation.
Constitutional Breach Cited
In a written statement by Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking member Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minority alluded to Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution that requires any treaty, agreement, or convention that the President signs to be laid before Parliament for ratification.
Referring to Supreme Court case laws, including Banful v Attorney-General (2017–2020) and Brogya Gyamfi v Attorney-General (2020), the Caucus contended that even unsigned agreements realized through note verbales come under the purview of this constitutional mandate.
"It is surprising that the government, whose comparable behavior when it was in office between 2013–2017 resulted in historic Supreme Court decisions, would openly disregard this constitutional mandate," the Minority noted.
They recalled the controversial admission of two Yemeni terror suspects into the country during the Mahama administration in 2016, which was subsequently held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Foreign Policy Issues
In addition to the constitutional breaches, the Minority warned that the agreement undermines Ghana's long-held foreign policy principles of non-alignment, regional solidarity, and human rights respect.
They argued that the deal risks positioning Ghana as a facilitator of what has come under attack as the US' inhumane and discriminatory immigration policy.
"The ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement is concerned with voluntary travel and not forced removals directed by a non-ECOWAS State," the release reaffirmed.
Government Demands
Government is being requested by the Minority Caucus to:
• Release the timeline of when the deal with the US was negotiated.
• State whether it was ever tabled before Parliament for ratification.
• Temporarily suspend implementation of the agreement until Parliament gets to use its constitutional mandate.
• State details of safeguards and security precautions taken to advance Ghana's national interest.
• Pledge that no subsequent agreement of this kind shall be operationalized in advance of prior Parliamentary approval.
"We will still hold Government to account in foreign policy and in everything that impacts the welfare and sovereignty of our people," the Caucus promised.
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