[ad_1]
Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration is disappointed by the decision of the US authorities to impose visa penalties in Ghana for the alleged lack of cooperation in the acceptance of Ghanaian nationals who have been ordered to leave the United States. .
On the contrary, the ministry said, he has always cooperated with US authorities in the processing and removal of Ghanaian citizens who had been cited for deportation from the United States to Ghana.
Useful links Ghana Politics | Ghana celebrity news | News in Ghana
"In accordance with international law, the Embbady of Ghana in Washington, DC, engaged in identification and verification processes to ensure that all persons designated to be deported to Ghana were bona fide citizens of Ghana, "according to a ministry statement. .
The people affected
The US Embbady in Accra released last Thursday visa restrictions for certain categories of Ghanaians, which will come into effect as of today.
Ghana News Titles
For news from Ghana, visit the Graphic Online titles page
Ghana news headlines.
The people concerned are parliamentarians, executive members and their families who apply for a visa to travel on vacation or business in the United States. The US said their visas would now be limited to one 30-day access.
Previously, the Embbady issued multiple entry visas (B1, B2 and B1 / B2) for six months or more to this category of persons.
In addition, the US Embbady will cease issuing all non-immigrant visas (NIVs) to national employees (A3 and G5) of Ghanaian diplomats stationed in the United States, explaining that visa applications A3 and G5 will be processed, but no visa will be issued in January. these categories as long as the restrictions remain in force.
"We cooperate"
But the Foreign Ministry said all countries had engaged in identification and verification processes to accept their expelled citizens from all over the world and that this was not unique to Ghana and the United States.
"The identification and verification mechanism has established deadlines and procedures that are communicated to authorities who deport at any time.
"It should be noted that as of January 8, 2019, our mission in Washington had received 28 requests from US authorities, of which 19 had been interviewed by the Embbady and 11 travel certificates issued for their trip to Ghana.
"The outstanding people are the result of doubts about their Ghanaian nationality, their state of health and their lawsuit in American courts," the statement said.
He pointed out that officials from the US embbady had verbally informed the ministry that there were about 7,000 Ghanaians who were at different stages of the deportation process.
"However, the US authorities have not confirmed any final court order to remove them, in accordance with US law," he said.
Quickly issue travel documents
At a press conference held last Friday, US ambbadador, Ms. Stephanie S. Sullivan, explained that sanctions were being taken under section 243 (d) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, which unreasonably prohibited or delayed the return of its nationals. had been deported.
The United Nations Convention on International Civil Aviation, of which Ghana is a signatory, requires the issuance of the necessary travel documents to citizens of a country that is the subject of court orders. expulsion from another country.
According to the US government, visa restrictions would be in place until the situation is resolved.
Ms. Sullivan called on the government to take immediate steps to provide travel documents to Ghanaians in the United States, who had been issued with an eviction order to prevent the imposition of new restrictions on the country. .
She pointed out that the category of visa sanctions would be expanded if Ghana delayed in complying with the United Nations Convention on International Civil Aviation, which required a member country to provide such documents for the purpose. expulsion of its nationals.
"It is unfortunate that we have had to get to this point, but we can not help but because there has been so much discussion on this topic since July 2016. Some countries were on the list and they left. We hope that Ghana will also leave. So we want Ghana to quickly issue travel documents, "said Ambbadador Sullivan.
However, she added, the US government was determined to engage with Ghana in eliminating the bottlenecks that prevented the issuance of travel documents.
[ad_2]
Source link
