22 automatically lose nationality when she acquires the citizenship of her husband through marriage. The citizenship laws of Ghana do not discriminate against women in their quest to transfer their nationality to their children. Ghana’s 1992 Constitution allows for both men and women to transfer their citizenship to a child. In addition, a Ghanaian man or woman has an equal right to confer Ghanaian nationality following the adoption of a child younger than 16 years. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana states that a woman who acquires Ghanaian citizenship by registration, and whose marriage to a Ghanaian is subsequently annulled or dissolved, can continue to be a citizen of Ghana unless she renounces her Ghanaian citizenship. In contrast, a man who applies for citizenship in Ghana by registration is subject to much scrutiny. Therefore, when it appears to the registration authorities that the marriage of a male applicant has been entered into primarily with a view to obtaining citizenship, the authority may request the applicant to prove that the marriage was entered into for good cause. Arbitrary deprivation of nationality: According to Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, a person may not be arbitrarily deprived of his or her Ghanaian nationality in Ghana. A person who is a Ghanaian by birth shall not be deprived of his or her nationality by a court of law. Deprivation of Ghanaian nationality acquired by any other means may be done only by the High Court on application by the attorney general, when such a person has been proven to engage in illicit activities or conduct inimical or prejudicial to public morality or the public interest. The inheritance of statelessness: Another cause of statelessness is the inheritance of statelessness. A stateless person may transfer the status of statelessness to his or her child if the child does not acquire the nationality of either parent before the parent became stateless, or of a grandparent, or if such a child is born in a country that does not practice jus soli (the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship of that state). In Ghana, the risk of the inheritance of statelessness is very real. The nation’s citizenship laws are based on the jus sanguinis (citizenship by parentage) principle. As such, when a child is unable to establish that at least one parent or grandparent has or had Ghanaian citizenship, the child is not considered by law to be Ghanaian. When that child cannot claim the citizenship of any other Journal on Migration and Human Security 8(1) nation, that child is at risk of statelessness. This also means that the stateless parents of a child born in Ghana pass on that statelessness to the child. Migration: Very often, migrants are forced to leave their home nations and even their communities within Ghana due to economic failings, famine, or conflict. Such forcibly displaced persons typically would have either lost or forgotten to carry their identity documents. In the absence of such documentation, proving their nationality may be a real challenge (even for those who may be genuinely Ghanaian), and such persons may be considered at risk of statelessness. This is especially the case if they stay outside their home countries or regions for a long period. Administrative barriers and lack of documentation: As seen with migration, administrative barriers and lack of documentation regrettably lead to statelessness. Certain administrative practices such as discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ethnicity, language, and physical traits may cause persons to be stateless or at least put them in danger of suffering the consequences of statelessness. Fortunately, in Ghana, discrimination is prohibited by the 1992 Constitution. That said, officials of various state institutions often discriminate against people on these prohibited grounds. Failure or the inability to register births in particular territories and the consequent lack of a birth certificate may also put a person at risk of statelessness. Similarly, the lack of a passport or other identity document that proves nationality may cause persons to be stateless or at risk of statelessness. Unfortunately, a number of administrative barriers exist in Ghana, including a lack of adequate training and capacity building of the civil servants who interact with stateless or at-risk persons. Many do not understand the concept of statelessness and the dilemma facing persons at risk of statelessness. They are, therefore, unable to provide support or proper direction to the stateless and to those at risk. Thus, the officers of government institutions who should be helping the stateless and persons at risk of statelessness add to their plight. Services in Ghana can be expensive. For stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness, the government and its institutions do not provide free or reduced cost services, which would better enable stateless and atrisk persons to access essential services. This restricted access to services also arises because Ghana, in large