Ghana

1. On behalf of the delegation of Ghana, I bring to the Members of the Assembly cordial greetings from the Government and people of Ghana. 2. The delegation of Ghana would also like to associate itself with other delegations in congratulating you, Mr. President, on your election to the high office of President of the General Assembly at its fourteenth session. We hope that, under your wise guidance, the deliberations of this Assembly will be conducted in a spirit of good will, mutual confidence and understanding. 3. We hope also that the deliberations of this Assembly will be successful and useful in our collective effort to find solutions to the compelling problems of our time and will contribute to the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the international community. 4. The times in which we live constitute, perhaps, one of the most momentous and challenging periods in human history. Today, perhaps more than ever before, the nations of the world are confronted with many complex problems which threaten the very existence of mankind and the continuance of life on the planet on which we live. On the other hand, the situation offers to us the finest opportunity to demonstrate the supremacy of the spirit and the higher nature of man over his lower self and base feelings or desires. This, in our view, is the greatest challenge facing modern civilization. 5. If we are to measure up to this supreme test of the human spirit, and if we are to have that breadth of vision and magnanimity of outlook required for solving the complex problems of our times, then the situation demands of all the leaders and statesmen of the various nations of the world a complete change in traditional attitudes and a reorganization of thinking habits. 6. The Government and people of Ghana believe that, however great the differences which now exist between nations and peoples may be, it is still possible for all of us to work together for the common good, provided that we are all willing to accommodate the views, the culture and ways of life of all the peoples, within reasonable and tolerable limits. 7. In the peculiar circumstances of the modern world, it is impossible for any nation or group of people to exist in isolation. It is in the interest of all that the peoples of the world should learn how to live together, to work together, and to develop their resources together for the mutual benefit of all. 8. The United Nations is an effective, and useful instrument for promoting peace and mutual understanding between nations. We can all help to make it an even more effective instrument in the promotion of peace than it has been during the past fourteen years of its existence. 9. The Government of Ghana will continue to co-operate with the United Nations, and undertakes to associate itself actively with any efforts of this world Organization to maintain peace and security among the nations. 10. For this reason, the Government and people of Ghana are happy that it will be convenient for the Secretary-General to visit Africa towards the end of this year and in the early part of next year. We assure the Secretary-General that he will receive a warm welcome from the people in the several African countries he intends to visit, and we are confident that he will find his visit to Ghana an enjoyable and useful experience. 11. Today, Africa is the only one among the continents which is not yet free and the majority of whose indigenous inhabitants are still under colonial domination and foreign rule. During the past ten years, there has been a great national reawakening and a growth of political consciousness throughout Africa. 12. The development of nationalist movements in recent times in Africa is a clear, and unmistakable demonstration of the intense desire of the African peoples to free themselves from foreign rule and become the masters of their own destiny. As a result of this reawakening, new nation States have been created in Africa and are now making their contribution in the family of nations. My own country, Ghana, is one of the new States which have recently emerged in Africa. The Republic of Guinea is another. 13. It is against this background that we look forward with pleasure to the opportunity of welcoming the new States of the Cameroons, Togoland, Nigeria and Somalia, which will join the community of nations next year and begin their respective careers in modern international life. We also hope that it will not be long before firm dates are fixed for the independence of other countries in Africa which are still under foreign rule and colonial domination. We believe that the time has come for the United Kingdom, as an Administering Authority, to take steps to fix a firm date for the independence of the Trust Territory of Tanganyika in consultation with the leaders of opinion in that Territory and in consultation with the United Nations. Since the United Nations has ultimate responsibility for the welfare and advancement of the people of Tanganyika, I think that there should be no difficulty in fixing a firm date for the independence of Tanganyika. 14. Recent developments in the Central African Federation, and especially in Nyasaland, have shocked the conscience of people all over the world. A Royal Commission appointed by the United Kingdom Government has reported in clear and unequivocal terms that Nyasaland is a police state under British colonial rule. A resolution on the question of Nyasaland was adopted at the Special session of the Conference of Independent African States held at Monrovia in August 1959, and the Ghana delegation again calls upon the United Kingdom Government to lift the state of emergency in Nyasaland, to release Dr. Hastings Banda and the more than 600 Africans who were unlawfully detained,’ and also to lift the ban on the Nyasaland African Congress, so that the Congress and its members can participate in the normal political life of their country. 15. The Hola Camp incident in Kenya, where eleven African prisoners were beaten to death in cold blood, is also fresh in our minds. And all these things happened under British colonial rule. 16. We are also observing with close interest and increasing apprehension the deplorable situation in Angola, under Portuguese rule, and in other African countries which are at present under domination by colonial Powers. The delegation of Ghana will support any effort by this Assembly intended to secure the submission of information to the United Nations by Portugal on its colonial territories. 17. My delegation would like to say that, while we all join together in the Assembly to condemn aggression wherever it may exist in any part of the world, we should also like the Assembly to take notice of the fact that the peoples of Africa have been victims of aggression by the colonial Powers for many years, and in fact are still victims of colonial aggression, and that the majority of Africans today are still labouring under foreign rule against their will. 18. In the words of our Prime Minister, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, we regard the independence of Ghana as meaningless unless we are able to use our freedom to help other African people to be free and independent, to liberate the entire continent of Africa from foreign domination, and ultimately to establish the Community of African States. In pursuance of this policy, we shall continue our efforts to encourage all the nationalist movements in Africa, which are struggling to gain independence from foreign rule and achieve the unity of the African peoples. 19., Another cardinal aim of our foreign policy is to continue to cultivate friendship with all nations and peoples, wherever possible, and good neighbourly relations with our sister African States, and to contribute to the promotion of peace and security among the nations of the world. 20. To achieve this end, the Government and people of Ghana are determined not to get themselves entangled in the ideological conflict and the cold war, which have now divided the world into Eastern and Western Power blocs. This does not mean that the Government and people of Ghana intend to be silent spectators in a boxing contest, or in matters which affect our country's vital interests and the destiny of the African peoples. Our policy is not passive or neutralist. On the other hand, our policy is a positive policy, because we believe in what Dr. Kwame Nkrumah calls "positive action". 21. Africa is the question mark among the continents. And what is happening in Africa today is, in our view, perhaps the greatest challenge which modern civilization will yet have to face. 22. I shall now deal with the war in Algeria. The question of independence and self-determination for Algeria is, of course, one of the most compelling problems facing the United Nations today. It is a problem that threatens international peace and security. 23. For nearly five years a relentless war has been raging in Algeria. The important point to remember is that the Algerian war is the only shooting war in the world today, the recent incidents in the Far East notwithstanding. The war in Algeria is not a "phoney" war. It is not a cold war. The war in Algeria is a hot war, a war of fire and steel. 24. The Algerian nationalists are fighting for nothing less than the same democratic freedom and justice which we all acclaim to be the inalienable right of all human beings. Why is Algeria not yet free and independent? This is the grave question Which we all have to answer. 25. Algeria is part of Africa. The Algerian question is, therefore, essentially an African question, and it must be put within the context of the struggle of the African peoples to free themselves from foreign domination. Algeria is not part of Europe, and therefore cannot be part of France. We refuse to accept the juristic, theory that any part of the African continent can be, or is, part of Europe 26. Last week General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, made a statement in which he put forward his plan to end the war in Algeria and also to solve the problem of Algerian independence. One remarkable and significant feature of General de Gaulle's statement was, in the view of my delegation, his failure to face in a courageous manner the political realities of the present Algerian situation. General de Gaulle seems to think that the war in Algeria could come to an end, and the Algerian problem could be solved, without the co-operation of the Algerian nationalist leaders, namely, the leaders of the National Liberation Front, who now form the Provisional Government of the Republic of Algeria. 27. The Nationalist Army, which has engaged the French Army in the field so courageously for nearly five years, is an army under the control of the nationalist leaders of Algeria. If there is to be a ceasefire and peace in Algeria, then, in our view, the leaders of France must negotiate with the leaders of the National Liberation Front in Algeria. This is a fact — a political reality — which the Government of France cannot conveniently ignore. 28. In this regard, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the Prime Minister of Ghana, is fond of saying that no good statesman can afford to close his eyes to political realities and then believe that problems can be solved by his refusal to accept the realities as hard facts to reckon with. 29. We believe that if the war in Algeria is to be brought to an end, and a peaceful settlement is to be effected in Algeria, then General de Gaulle and the nationalist leaders 'of Algeria should come together and negotiate for a cease-fire and for peace in Algeria. 30. At the Special Session of the Conference of Independent African States, held at Monrovia in August 1959, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: "The Conference of Independent African States... "Bearing in mind the resolution passed on Algeria at the Accra. Conference in April 1958, as well as the Joint Communique issued at Sanniquellie on July 19, 1959, "Considering that it is through negotiation between the two parties concerned that a just, peaceful and democratic solution can be found in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations, "Taking note of the willingness of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic to enter into negotiation with the Government of France, "X. Urges France: "(a) To recognise the right of the Algerian people to self-determination and independence; "(b) To put an end to the hostilities and to withdraw all her troops from Algeria; "(c) To enter into negotiation with the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic; "2. Appeals to the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with a view to urging France to desist from using in Algeria arms supplied by that organization-for defensive purposes; "3. Requests all the friends and allies of France, and all peace-loving nations and peoples, to use their influence with the Government of France with a view to bringing to an end the bloodshed in Algeria and enabling the Algerian people to achieve their legitimate aspirations towards independence and liberty. . .” The Government of Ghana stands by that resolution and is prepared to co-operate in any constructive effort which will help to bring the parties in Algeria together and ensure a peaceful solution of the problem of Algerian independence along the lines indicated in the Monrovia resolution. 31. However, I wish to make it quite clear beyond any reasonable doubt that the Government of Ghana will not associate itself with any plan for the solution of any problem in any African country if such a plan is intended ultimately to divide that' African country into two parts, and thus create in Africa a problem such as the problem now facing us in Germany, in Korea and in Viet-Nam. The Government of Ghana stands for the unity of Africa and also for the unity of individual African States. 32. Against this background, perhaps General de Gaulle may be well advised to revise his thinking, as set forth in his latest plan, on the question of independence for Algeria. However, I wish to make it quite clear that at this stage I am dealing with General de Gaulle's plan for Algeria purely on the basis of principles. My delegation reserves the right to make a more detailed and considered comment on this plan at a later stage. 33. I come now to the question of South West Africa. On this subject the recent Conference in Monrovia, to which I have previously referred, unanimously adopted the following resolution: "The Conference of Independent African States, "Deeply concerned by the situation in the territory of South West Africa, “1. Urges the Government of the Union of South Africa to implement the resolutions of the United Nations concerning the territory of South West Africa; "2. Maintains that this territory is in fact a Trust Territory of the United Nations, and as such the United Nations cannot relinquish its legal and moral responsibilities to the indigenous inhabitants, who are entitled to the same treatment given to other Trust Territories; "3. Appeals to the United Nations to fix a date for the independence of the territory of South West Africa." The Government of Ghana stands by this resolution, and my delegation would wish to urge that the United Nations should explore all possibilities for a just solution of the question of South West Africa. 34. In adopting this view, I wish to emphasize that the Government of Ghana does not deny or in any way underestimate the need or feasibility of juridical action in the International Court of Justice. We believe, however, that given good will, co-operation and understanding on all sides, perhaps the necessity for any such juridical proceedings may not even arise. 35. Next, I should like to turn to the Cameroons under French administration. We are happy that on 1 January 1960 the Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration will become an independent State. 36. As we have previously indicated; it is our view that free and democratic elections should be held in the Cameroons before independence. We believe that such elections would help to establish peace and security in the new African State and would ensure to the new Government a large fund of goodwill, both national and international. This is essential, because it will enable the Government to proceed with confidence add courage with the programme of progressive national reform and reconstruction which usually confronts a new State immediately after attaining independence. 37. The elections will also provide the United Nations with an opportunity of establishing a clear principle and procedure for the attainment of independence by Trust Territories for which the United Nations has ultimate responsibility. 38. On this matter the recent Conference in Monrovia unanimously adopted the following resolution: "The Conference of Independent African States "1. Welcomes the independence of the Cameroons which will become effective on the 1st January 1960. "2. Considers that free elections under United Nations supervision before independence is the most effective and democratic means of solving the present crisis, in strict conformity with the objectives of the International Trusteeship System. "3. Deplores the present situation in the Territory and calls upon the Government, and the opposition in and out of the Territory, to come together in the interest of their country and to find a just solution to their differences so that the Independent Cameroons will be able to take its rightful place among the Independent African States and the nations of the world. "4. Offers its good offices to search for appropriate means for bringing about this objective. "5. Failing that, appeals to the conscience of the world and the Members of the United Nations to support all efforts to bring the matter before the next session of the General Assembly of the United Nations." 39. However, the time available is very short. We hope, therefore, that the Prime Minister of the Cameroons and his Government may consider it essential and find it convenient, in the best interest of the new State and the welfare of all its people, to adopt measures in the very near future consistent with the Charter of the United Nations and the wishes of all sections of the people of the Cameroons. 40. We also hope that, as an act of statesmanship and magnanimity, the Prime Minister may declare a general amnesty so as to allow all the men and women who were exiled from the country during the period of foreign rule to return to their national home and to take part in the normal political life of the new State. 41. We sincerely trust that the various parties concerned in the Cameroons will realize the spirit of the attitude we have adopted in this matter, and will agree to work together in the best interest of their own country and for the cause of peace, prosperity and unity of the African peoples. 42. I now turn to the question of nuclear tests in the Sahara. If was in pursuance of the policy of positive neutralism that the Government of Ghana took the initiative of expressing our strong protest against the proposed testing of nuclear weapons by France in the Sahara Desert. 43. In a note verbale dated 2 June 1959, the Government of Ghana appealed to the Government of France to abandon the proposed testing of nuclear weapons in the Sahara Desert, in the following terms: "The Government of Ghana is very deeply alarmed over the French Government's proposed explosion of atomic bombs over the Sahara. As an African State bordering on the Sahara region, and conscious of our responsibilities not only towards our own citizens but also towards the inhabitants of the African Continent, the Government and people of Ghana appeal to President de Gaulle, as head of the great Franco-African Community, to abandon the carrying out of such tests in the Sahara. "We base our appeal upon the warning of scientists that such tests as we understand the French Government have in mind to make over the Sahara, will bring dangerous and disastrous consequences to the lives of the inhabitants of the African Continent, and particularly the inhabitants of the whole of the western region of’ Africa, including the inhabitants of the territories which now form part of the Franco- African Community. "The Government and people of Ghana are confident that the Government and people of France will appreciate the horrors and terrible effects which nuclear explosion in the Sahara Desert will engender, and that the Government of France will therefore take heed of this appeal by the Government of Ghana and will refrain from any action which will bring misery and destruction to the African people. "Motivated as we are by the spirit of humanity, which we believe (the Government and people of the French Republic share with us, we feel it our duty to speak not only for the people of Ghana, but also for all the African peoples throughout the Continent of Africa. In doing so, we believe that we reflect the sentiments of all peace-loving people throughout the world, and that this appeal which we make to the Government of France is in conformity, with the efforts which statesmen are at present actively making to find a lasting solution to the dangers involved in the accumulation of atomic weapons and the testing of such weapons which, if not arrested, will ultimately annihilate civilization and the whole of mankind. "In support of our appeal, the Government of Ghana invites the attention of the Government of the Republic of France to the resolution adopted at the Conference of Independent African States held in Accra in April 1958, which called upon the great Powers to discontinue the production of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons and to suspend all such test to, not only in the interest of world peace, but also as a symbol of their avowed devotion to the rights of man. The Conference viewed with great alarm and strongly condemned all atomic tests in any part of the world and, in particular, the intention to carry out such tests in the Sahara. "The Government and people of Ghana are confident that a decision by the Government of France to refrain from making nuclear., tests in the Sahara will be eloquent testimony of the desire of the French people to make a positive contribution towards eliminating the dangers inherent' in the present competition in nuclear bomb production between the great Powers. Such a decision to refrain from any action that threatens the lives and the future of the African peoples will serve to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the African Territories and the people of the French Republic. "In making this appeal, the Government of Ghana is confident of the full support of the Independent States of Africa. The Government of Ghana is also confident that all leaders of opinion in the African territories which at present form part of the Franco-African Community, will share the apprehensions which the Government and people of Ghana have regarding the decision of the Government of France to carry out atomic tests in the Sahara Desert." 44. I wish to make the position of the Government of Ghana quite clear in this matter. In the first place, we maintain that the nuclear Powers, namely, the. United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, or any other Power, should stop manufacturing nuclear weapons, and should not even test those they have already manufactured, but should rather destroy such weapons. Secondly, we maintain that no State, including France, should test nuclear weapons anywhere on the African continent, because we, the Africans, want peace in Africa and in the world. And thirdly, we appeal to France not to conduct any nuclear tests in the Sahara Desert, because such tests will endanger the lives of all human beings in the Sahara region and in Africa generally, including the lives of all French people and other Europeans or non-Africans who now live in Africa. 45. We believe that this is a view with which no peace-loving people will have any good reason to quarrel. We hope, therefore, that, in the name of humanity, the Government and peace-loving people of France will listen to our appeal, and abandon their intention to conduct nuclear tests in the Sahara Desert. 46. On the general question of disarmament, we believe that fear and suspicion are the real bases of conflict and misunderstanding among the nations of the world today, and especially between the United States and the Soviet Union. To eliminate this basic fear and suspicion, it is necessary that the nations of the world make every effort to disarm themselves through the process of negotiation and mutual agreement. 47. We believe that, apart from the normal requirements for internal security, there is no need for the accumulation of large stocks of armaments, nor for the maintenance of large defence forces by any State. 48. Within the framework of this reasoning, we hope that this Assembly will examine in a serious, constructive and courageous manner the several proposals which have been put forward as possible solutions to the gloomy and depressing question of disarmament. 49. The Government and people of Ghana believe that, in spite of the complexity of the problems which confront us in modern international life anti the high tensions which exist in different parts of the world today, there is still hope for the survival of mankind in the cosmic scheme of things. 50. We believe that man is not the enemy of his fellow men. On the other hand, man is the complement of his fellow man. The real enemies of mankind are ignorance, disease, poverty and squalor, which now exist in modern society. If we are to have peace, security and stability in the international community, then we must all grow into full realization of this fact. 51. We should all agree among ourselves to fight against these real enemies of mankind, to eliminate them from our national as well as international life, and to establish a new system of human relations, a new society and a new conception of human good, based on freedom, justice and truth. 52. This, in our view, is the greatest challenge of our times.