Information on the documentation required and the procedures to be followed by a parent wishing to travel abroad with a minor was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. Following an interview with the Research Directorate on 13 October 2006, the Deputy High Commissioner of Ghana provided the following information regarding the requirement to obtain the written consent of the second parent when traveling with a child:

I explained that this was neither the law nor the practice in Ghana. I added that consent was normally presumed to have been given by one parent to the other to travel, accompanied by their child or children. I clarified that there could be exceptions - instances where the custody of the child is subject of dispute (divorce proceeding, various court orders). Under these exceptions, appropriate consent either of the court or a disputing parent (as the case may be) would be necessary. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a disputing parent to raise, with law enforcement agencies, suspicion that a child who is the subject of legal dispute risked being removed from a jurisdiction in breach of the process. (27 Oct. 2006)

It should be noted that Ghana is not a signatory to the Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCCH 13 July 2006). This convention is "a multilateral treaty, which seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return" (ibid. n.d.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). 13 July 2006. "Status Table 28: Convention 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction." http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=24 [Accessed 20 July 2006]

_____. N.d. "The Child Abduction Section." http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=21 [Accessed 21 July 2006]

High Commission of Ghana in Ottawa. 27 October 2006. Correspondence from the Deputy High Commissioner.

Oral sources: The Canadian High Commission in Accra and the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, DC did not have information on the subject.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana and two law firms in Ghana did not respond within the time constraints of this Response.

Publications: Travel Information Manual.

Internet sites, including: A Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors, Accra Daily Mail, Canadian High Commission in Ghana, Factiva, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, The Ghanaian Chronicle, Legislationline, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Refworld, the Republic of Ghana, United States Bureau of Consular Affairs, United States Department of State.