GHANA 2009 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM

UNCLAS ACCRA 001326 SIPDIS STATE FOR S/CT:RHONDA SHORE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER ASEC EFIN KCRM KHLS PINS PREL AEMR GH SUBJECT: GHANA 2009 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM REF: STATE 109980 ¶1. (U) Ghana is a peaceful, democratic country with some localized inter-ethnic conflicts in the northern area of the country. The conflicts are based on local chieftaincy disputes with political and ethnic overtones. U.S. citizens are not a target in the conflicts. ¶2. (U) Ghanaians are generally pro-American. Many members of government have strong ties to the United States, and the visit by President Obama in July was a cause for national celebration. The dozens of billboards welcoming the President and Mrs. Obama to Ghana that were placed on roadsides throughout the country prior to the visit remained in place in December. Radio stations played the hit song QAkwaaba Obama (Welcome Obama) for months following the President's visit. ¶3. (U) In 2008, Ghana enacted the Counterterrorism Act that called for implementation of a national identification card. The cards will contain bio-metric data such as fingerprints and photos, but the national identification card has not yet been introduced. Forms of identification with biometrics are not in widespread use, although the Ghanaian driver's license is issued with a fingerprint as part of the individual's application. Most citizens use their voter registration card and a passport for identifcation. Ghanaian passports issued in 2009 were machine readable but lacked biometric features. In 2010 Ghana plans to begin issuing a biometric passport that will be machine readable and include a digital photograph of the bearer. The passport will also contain numerous visible and ultraviolet sensitive (invisible) security features. ¶4. (U) Ghana also passed an anti-money laundering law in 2008 that provided for the establishment of a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). At the end of 2009, the FIU was not yet operational. However, six potential FIU members, including the Chief Executive Officer, were identified and sent to the U.S. for training, and the government expects the FIU to begin work in 2010. ¶5. (U) USAFRICOM provided technical and training assistance to the Ghanaian Navy for the three "Defender" class patrol boats they received in 2008 and the additional four boats delivered in December. The patrol boats are intended to improve maritime interdiction capacity and to address Ghana's limited ability to patrol its porous borders, including its maritime border. ¶6. (U) USAFRICOM also paid for the construction of a security room at the Accra airport designed to house a State Department funded X-ray body scanner that will detect drugs ingested by passengers. The presence in the airport of sophisticated screening equipment will serve as a deterrent for any passenger whose objective is to move unobserved through GhanaQs international terminal. ¶7. (U) The governments of Ghana and Togo signed an agreement in October to cooperate on crime and security problems such as human trafficking, small weapons trafficking, money laundering, and counterterrorism. The agreement is part of a larger strategy to accelerate regional integration and the free movement of persons, goods, and services and to intensify trade and economic relations within the sub-region. ¶8. (U) Embassy point of contact is Political Officer Raymond Stephens. Email address is StephensRW@state.gov