24 In addition, children who are born to such persons and who do not otherwise acquire Ghanaian citizenship through the jus sanguinis principle also risk being stateless. If these births are not registered with the nationality of their parents, these children may be at risk of statelessness. Even when these births are registered, future generations of the children of these migrants may be at risk of statelessness if they continue to live in Ghana and have children with noncitizens of Ghana whose home countries practice jus soli. The risk of statelessness is also heightened if the laws of the home country of these immigrants require them to return to their countries within a specified time, failing which they may lose their citizenship. Nomadic Fulanis and their descendants constitute part of the migratory population that is at risk of statelessness in Ghana because they usually do not carry with them appropriate identity documentation evidencing their nationality. Fulanis are an ethnic group that can be found everywhere in West Africa. A large number are nomadic and are associated with animal husbandry, while others have settled within the borders of particular nations (interview with Prof. Sheikh Osman Bari, president of the Fulani Association of Ghana, 2017). Due to the nature of nomadic tribes, they move from one country to another in search of pastures to feed their cattle and do not often return to their countries of origin. While in Ghana, they live in remote areas, where access to healthcare and education is often a challenge. As a result of where they live and the fact that they shy away from indigenous Ghanaians, births in this community often go unregistered, and the children born are often not issued birth certificates, which is a means of preventing statelessness among these children (interview with the Fulani Association of Ghana). Liberian, Sierra Leonean, and Togolese Refugees in Ghana Former Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees in Ghana and their descendants fled civil wars in their countries between the early 1990s and 2000s with few possessions, and they have little to no documentation (UNHCR 2011). They have lived in various parts of Ghana. Some have naturalized as Ghanaians; others have integrated into communities in Ghana. During our fieldwork, some of them explained their situations: Journal on Migration and Human Security 8(1) Thomas was born in Liberia. He has no birth certificate, and he does not speak any of the indigenous languages of Liberia. His uncle brought him to Ghana in 1996 during the conflict in Liberia. Thomas had a mental incapacity at the time his uncle brought him to Ghana, after he witnessed his own father being murdered in cold blood in Liberia. Thomas does not want to go back to Liberia because the person who slayed his father is still alive and lives in Liberia. (Interview with Thomas, a Liberian refugee in Ghana) Without documentation, refugees lack proof of their nationality. In Ghana, many refugees are in protracted situations — some arrived in Ghana when very young, and some were born in Ghana to refugee parents. For instance: Sandra was born in Ghana at the Budumburam Refugee Camp; both of her parents, however, were Liberians. Her father passed away some years ago, while her mother is still alive and lives in Ghana. Her parents came to Ghana during the war in Liberia. The family has since never returned to Liberia. Sandra speaks only English and is unable to speak any of the indigenous Liberian languages. She has never traveled to Liberia or out of Ghana. (Interview with Sandra, a Liberian refugee in Ghana) Any child born in Ghana is entitled to a birth certificate, regardless of their parents’ nationality. The birth certificate states the parents’ nationality, and while it does not constitute a nationality document issued by their country of origin, it provides proof of the child’s nationality. As such, it protects the child from statelessness, even in the event that their parents die and leave behind no proof of their own nationality. UNHCR and the Ghana Refugee Board make efforts to ensure that children of refugees born in Ghana obtain birth certificates to prevent the children from becoming stateless. The Ghana Refugee Board estimates that there are also approximately 3,000 Togolese refugees in Ghana, of which approximately 2,700 reside in the Volta Region (Ghana Refugee Board 2017). While cessation will likely be implemented for Togolese in the near future, few Togolese refugees have nationality documentation from Togo. In a 2015 survey conducted by UNHCR and partners, only 30 percent of Togolese respondents claimed they had some form of nationality document (UNHCR 2008). Because most respondents did not carry the documents on their person, UNHCR could not