On Thursday, September 25, President John Dramani Mahama addressed the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, US.
In his address, President Mahama demanded not only a reform of the Security Council, but also a reset of the global financial architecture, which is currently rigged against Africa.
He said Africa must have a greater say in the world’s multilateral financial institutions.
“While I am making requests, I would like to call for the removal of the blockade on Cuba. As Dr Kwame Nkrumah, our nation’s founder, famously said, ‘We seek to be friends of all and enemies to none.’ The Cuban people shed their blood on African soil in the fight against apartheid.
Indeed, Cuba has been, and continues to be, a faithful friend to Africa,” he said.
He added that “You see, the very fact that I can stand here and ask these things, and the fact that all nations can ostensibly gather here to address critical global issues, air grievances, and express concerns—that is what makes the survival of this organisation so important.
“In every old city or village, you will find a town square, a courtyard, or a plaza that once served as a gathering place for the citizens and their leaders. Meetings and celebrations were held there, as were trials and elections. They were spaces that brought people together and held them as a community. Sadly, time and technology have eroded those spaces.”
President Mahama further stated that in many ways, the United Nations is the proverbial town square of the modern global village, and it has never been more critical for us to protect this one space that brings and holds the world’s nations together as a community.
“The Internet, social media platforms, and Artificial Intelligence offer us the illusion of connectivity, when in fact they reinforce isolation by using algorithms that ensure we do not receive new ideas and perspectives, but rather more of the same. We are served alternative facts and manipulated images, making it easier to disseminate disinformation and sow seeds of division.
“These are dangerous times. Our world is currently experiencing a rise in nationalism and economic instability. There is a general breakdown of multilateralism; various acts of aggression have been committed against the sovereignty of others, and nations are attempting to circumvent the very safeguards put in place to prevent large-scale global conflict.
“These conditions are all too similar to the ones that led to the League of Nations’ failure in fulfilling its mandate. The denial of visas to President Abbas and the Palestinian delegation sets a bad precedent and should be deeply worrying to all member nations. Ghana recognised the state of Palestine in 1988 and supported a two-state solution to the conflict.”
