Atuguba et al. identity card if she is able to procure two guarantors, who must be citizens of Ghana and registered voters. Notably, National Health Insurance identity cards (NHIS cards), pursuant to the decision of the Supreme Court in Abu Ramadan and Another v. The Electoral Commission and Another and Kwasi Danso Acheampong v. The Electoral Commission and Another (consolidated writs, 2014), are no longer accepted by the Electoral Commission as proof of Ghanaian citizenship. The rationale for this decision was that the National Health Insurance card is available to both citizens and noncitizens, including stateless persons. Access to Justice, Assistance, and Protection of the State Stateless persons are guaranteed the fundamental human rights enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and are entitled to protection by the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary against infringement of such rights. They have the right to apply to the High Court for the enforcement of these rights (Constitution of Ghana 1992). This access to the judicial system is in line with Article 16 of the 1954 UN Convention on statelessness, which provides for access to the courts by stateless persons. In practice, however, stateless persons or persons at risk of statelessness very often do not avail themselves of the assistance and protection of the Ghana Police Service, the justice system, and other state institutions. They are usually voiceless and not able to muster courage to avail themselves of state institutions. Stateless persons interviewed in the course of this study expressed a general fear to interface with the Police Service or other similar state institutions for fear of being removed from the country as illegal aliens. These concerns also limit the right of stateless persons to access justice. The Right to Work The right to work for stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness is hindered by the lack of appropriate identity documents, particularly in the formal sector. In the informal sector, there are fewer restrictions, but an identity document might still be necessary to access a bank loan or other services. The inability of stateless persons to work and earn a living has adverse consequences on their ability to provide for themselves and their families. 29 Conclusion and Recommendations This study makes a number of recommendations for addressing issues of statelessness in Ghana. First, the Ministry of the Interior should take pragmatic steps — with fixed timelines — to finalize and adopt the National Plan of Action for the eradication of statelessness in Ghana by 2024. The plan should take into consideration the provisions of the 2017 Banjul Plan of Action and should include reasonable timelines. The ministry must establish reasonable and clear procedures and conditions for nationality, and it must effectively publicize them. Second, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should establish clear channels to appeal the decision of an officer who refuses an applicant’s application for a passport on the grounds of ethnicity or on other arbitrary grounds. Third, Ghana should ratify — through an Act of Parliament — the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on statelessness. Their ratification through an Act of Parliament, rather than by a Resolution of Parliament, would align with recent decisions of the Ghanaian Supreme Court and better ensure that the rights created under the Conventions are enforceable by the Ghanaian courts. Article 6(2) of the 1992 Constitution should be amended to accord a child (of any age and regardless of whether the child’s parents are known), who is born in Ghana and who would otherwise be stateless, citizenship of Ghana. Fourth, the UNHCR should collaborate with strategic state institutions like the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the Births and Deaths Registry, the Ghana Statistical Service, the National Identification Authority, and other relevant agencies to undertake massive public education on citizenship and its acquisition, especially among communities that may be at risk of statelessness. Fifth, the Births and Deaths Registry and other state institutions like the Ghana Immigration Service should collaborate more closely on determination of nationality. Frequent sharing of relevant, timely, and accurate information will make status determinations easier, and will improve the chances of a more just course of action with respect to a stateless person or person at risk of statelessness. Sixth, district magistrates should be involved in determining the nationality of a parent or an applicant in cases of doubtful nationality. This step will ensure greater accuracy in nationality determinations through the