Ghana, like many other
nations here, is delighted and feels proud that a
distinguished lady endowed with excellent diplomatic
skills has been elected to the presidency of this body.
We have no doubt that she will continue the skilful
stewardship of her predecessor, Mr. Jan Eliasson, the
Foreign Minister of Sweden, who presided over the
sixtieth session of the General Assembly.
Ghana would also like to welcome the Republic
of Montenegro as the 192nd Member of the United
Nations, and looks forward to the day when the
Organization will attain full global and universal
membership.
A year ago, we met at this historic venue to adopt
the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document
(resolution 60/1), in which we acknowledged that
peace and security and development and human rights
11 06-52737
were the pillars of the United Nations system and the
foundations of our collective well-being. We also
recognized that those pillars were interlinked and
mutually reinforcing and that, while each country had
the primary responsibility for its own development,
individual efforts should be complemented by
supportive global programmes, measures and policies
aimed at expanding development opportunities,
especially for developing countries.
Ghana therefore attaches the utmost importance
to the Summit’s decision that developing countries
should adopt and begin to implement by 2006 such
requisite national strategies as would enable them to
achieve the goals and objectives that have been agreed
upon, including the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). Ghana has therefore been working
relentlessly towards that end, in the firm belief that our
development partners, both bilateral and multilateral,
will support us in our efforts to improve the living
conditions of our people. For effective implementation,
all concerned must show commitment and dispatch.
Ghana recognizes good governance as crucial to
sustainable development. We have therefore worked
assiduously at establishing a robust culture of
democracy, sound economic management and
adherence to the rule of law. The free and fair elections
that have been held successfully in Ghana over the past
15 years bear eloquent testimony to the determination
of Ghanaians to create an equitable, free and stable
society in which each individual can develop his or her
full potential. The media, freed from intimidating
legislation, have blossomed into a vibrant watchdog for
the probity and accountability expected of the
governors and the responsibility expected of the
citizens.
It is against that background that Ghana readily
submitted itself to the African Peer Review Mechanism
under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development to
have an objective assessment of its institutional
structures and their functioning for the improvement of
its governance.
But our collective objective within this
Organization to alleviate the economic plight of the
majority of mankind may continue to elude us unless
the pursuit of international peace and security is
effectively and satisfactorily addressed. Ghana
therefore views with grave concern the continuing
spread and persistence of terrorist activities. The
international community must rally to contain and
effectively eradicate that menace to mankind.
In that regard, the Secretary-General’s proposal
for a Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy is welcome.
Indeed, it is the view of Ghana that there must be a
quick conclusion of the deliberations on the proposed
comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
Yet another scourge to the security of the world
are the snail-paced talks on the elimination of nuclear
weapons and the added threat of the proliferation of
those weapons. Ghana shares the concerns of the
majority of Member States that this body must
continue with and intensify its pressure for the total
elimination of those weapons, for as long as 27,000
nuclear weapons continue to exist, as they do now, our
world will remain vulnerable to the threat of mass
destruction.
We make this appeal not unaware of the positive
uses of nuclear energy, but so long as those nations
which already possess these weapons and those on the
verge of breaking into the mastery of the technology do
not show transparency with their know-how, the world
will feel insecure. So Ghana appeals to such nations to
show candour and transparency in their cooperation
with the International Atomic Energy Agency by their
compliance with the terms of the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
The spread of small arms and light weapons is yet
another scourge, especially for Africa. This
Organization’s collective efforts to rein in that menace
since 2001 have indeed yielded significant results.
However, we are still far from achieving the desired
target. That was borne out by the outcome of the recent
Review Conference of the United Nations Programme
of Action. Ghana therefore welcomes the current
momentum within the international community to
move closer to the ultimate goal of drastically
removing the menace.
Without a doubt, the United Nations
responsibility for maintaining international peace and
security has been tremendously facilitated by
peacekeeping operations in many troubled spots around
the world. Ghana has been a dedicated and regular
contributor to those operations. It is thus committed
because of its conviction that the lack of peace and
stability in any country can have far-reaching negative
repercussions beyond its immediate borders. We
therefore commend moves to enhance the United
06-52737 12
Nations peacekeeping activities that bring hope to
victims of conflict.
African nations are more and more demonstrating
their proactive commitment to the management and
resolution of conflicts on their continent. That is why
Ghana commends and supports the Secretary-General’s
determination to take the necessary measures to effect
the envisaged close partnership between the
Organization and the African Union in that sphere,
with particular reference to Darfur, in order to save the
many lives threatened by the looming crisis there.
Deepening Africa’s peacekeeping capacity to meet that
challenging mission through training, logistical and
financial support is crucial to the success of that goal.
The decision taken at the 2005 World Summit in that
regard must therefore be expeditiously implemented.
A monumental product of the Summit was the
birth of the Peacebuilding Commission, of which
Ghana is a member. Our expectation is that the 30-
member Commission will discharge its functions
diligently. Another significant milestone achieved by
this Organization was the establishment of the Human
Rights Council. I must express appreciation to this
Assembly for electing Ghana with the highest number
of votes to the Council.
The many resolutions and the launching of
various Commissions clearly indicate the
determination of our Organization to make the world a
better and safer place for mankind. The truth is,
however, that if this desire is to be actualized, the
United Nations must undergo more radical reforms and
be better equipped to effectively implement its
decisions. Such a streamlined Organization will create
the critical mass for tackling effectively the many
challenges that threaten international peace and
security. Thus, the debate to reform the Security
Council based on the principles of democracy, the
sovereign equality of States and equitable geographical
representation, among others, is very much in order
and must be supported.
Permit me at this stage to try to discharge an
honourable duty that I feel uniquely placed to
undertake. That is to pay tribute to the Secretary-
General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who is my compatriot and
my friend, at the end of his exemplary tenure. He has
brought much honour and distinction to our nation,
Ghana, by his excellent stewardship of the United
Nations over the past 10 years. Indeed, his entire adult
career over the past 40 years has been at the exclusive
service of this Organization, through the ranks of
which he rose until he attained the pinnacle 10 years
ago. His dedicated and illustrious service during the
first 30 years led to his historic election as the first-
ever career officer to become Secretary-General.
Destiny also marked him out as the Secretary-
General to see out the last century and also usher the
Organization into the twenty-first century. It cannot be
disputed that these 10 years of his tenure have
witnessed the phenomenal acceleration of the world in
the process towards globalization. He can also claim
some credit for having succeeded in shepherding our
Organization deftly through the complicated and
transformational challenges that the times confronted it
with. He has been able to provide this masterful
leadership not only through competent administration,
but also in ideas as well as lofty humanistic ideals. His
vision for a more proactive Organization, able to
respond to the challenges of the twenty-first century,
has been lucidly published in his report “In larger
freedom: towards development, security and human
rights for all”.
He is a much decorated personality all over the
world, and his winning the Nobel Peace Prize
especially attests to the quality of the human being he
is. There is no doubt that he retires with an enviable
legacy of contributing immensely to shaping the
destiny of this Organization and the affairs of the
world. Ghana is proud of him and looks forward to
receiving him heroically at home. I say to him in our
language “Ayekoo”, meaning “well done!”