Ghana

Thank you very much, Sir. But I prefer to be called “Flight-Lieutenant” and not “Mr.” I join preceding speakers in congratulating the President and the other members of the Bureau on your election to direct the affairs of the fifty-third session of the General Assembly. I am indeed very confident that under your wise leadership the outcome of our deliberations will constitute a great step forward in our efforts to build a new world which meets the aspirations of our peoples in the search for peace, justice and prosperity. May I also avail myself of this opportunity to express the deep appreciation of my delegation for the remarkable achievements of Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, under whose able guidance the Assembly at the preceding session took very important decisions on United Nations reform intended to prepare the Organization for the immense challenges ahead as we move into the twenty-first century. In these laudable efforts, we also recognize the bold initiatives and drive of our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, whose vision for the future of the United Nations, corresponding so much with that of the general membership and the peoples of the world, facilitated the continuing process of reform. We in Ghana and indeed in Africa are proud to have for a son a man of his stature and drive. The commemoration this year of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affords us the opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved over the years and map out well-defined strategies to improve the quality of life of our peoples, by effectively promoting and protecting their fundamental rights, which the Declaration holds as a common standard of achievement for all people and all nations. Womenâs rights must be at the centre of that process and we should remain focused on their worldwide promotion and protection. It is their right. It is our obligation. The work of the United Nations in strengthening the equal status and the human rights of women, from the World Conference on Human Rights to the Fourth World Conference on Women, is indeed commendable. Almost fifty years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 12 million children under five years of age die every year from preventable diseases, 200 million children under five years of age are undernourished and 110 million are denied basic education. Eight hundred million people have no access to the most basic health services, and 1.3 billion human beings live in abject poverty around the world. This state of affairs persists because of the inequitable international economic system which discriminates against a developing world, particularly Africa. The persistent critical economic situation in Africa should be of great concern to the international community and should prompt us all to take effective and urgent measures to address its underlying causes. Many of our countries, particularly the poorer ones, continue to suffer from a heavy debt burden and crippling debt-servicing 4 obligations, which, by diverting resources away from development, prevent us from providing adequate social services to our populations in basic areas such as education and health and therefore reduce our capacity to compete in the global market. In this regard, we stress the need for debt-relief measures to be accompanied by concessional financial assistance, particularly to the least developed countries, with the aim of enhancing the implementation of economic reforms and creating a stable environment that enables countries to extricate themselves from the debt overhang. The international reverberations of the recent financial turmoil in Asia and elsewhere, I believe, point to the futility of any notions that any nation can play outside the rules, that any nation in this world can stand alone. In my view, the present approach of certain industrialized countries who require developing countries to adhere to standards or policies which they themselves do not observe, or seem unable to observe, will severely test relations between the developed and the developing countries in the next century. We must stand together if we are not to jeopardize the prosperity enjoyed by hundreds of millions today and the hopes of billions more for a life of dignity and a healthy measure of comfort — nothing more, nothing less. The new times we live in require new ideas suitable to the dynamics of today. Policy makers and opinion leaders in the developed countries bear great responsibility in this regard, as we all do, for providing very clear leadership of integrity. Much is demanded of those countries that share a great part of the blame for the present state of the world, as they no doubt have the means to be able to provide what it takes. Even though it had been clear for some time that sustainable development around the globe could not be achieved without a measure of fairness in economic relations between North and South, because of short-term considerations of profit and advantage, the countries benefiting from the unjust economic order chose to ignore the serious impact of that situation on living standards in most parts of the world as well as in limiting world economic growth. Instead, we received sermons on the truths, realities and moralities of life, and countries and peoples were victimized if they were shown not to have lived up to expectations. That was the price, in other words, that we had to pay. It was obvious, however, that whenever a situation required moral leadership from the capitals of those countries which preached morality in the first place, that morality manifested itself as no more than national interest. No one questions the need for States to look out for their national interests. However, it is the blindness to the need for enlightened self-interest that has lain at the heart of the divisions between our States for so long, and which has finally shaken the economic confidence of people, whether in the North or the South, in recent times. The end of the cold war has unleashed new threats to global and regional peace. Intra-State conflicts, rooted in ethnic, racial and religious intolerance, pose a threat to the security of many States and regions. The tardiness and selectivity of the international community in dealing with some of these conflict situations have been rather disturbing, as they have undermined the concept of collective security enshrined in our noble Charter. Article 24 of the Charter not only confers “primary responsibility” for the maintenance of international peace and security on the Security Council, but also calls for “prompt and effective action” when a breach occurs. However, in our part of the world, we often ask ourselves where the “prompt and effective” action of the Council was when Rwanda was on fire. Where was the Council when Liberia was in turmoil? Where was the “prompt and effective action” when the people of Sierra Leone agonized under the yoke of a brutal dictatorship? In the face of the selectivity of the Security Council in dealing with issues of international peace and security, and in spite of our regionâs meagre resources, we have had to rely on our own efforts to respond to internal strife in some of the countries in our neighbourhood. We call on the Governments of those countries to remain steadfast in making sacrifices and doing everything possible to bring about national reconciliation, peace and stability. The international situation continues to be poisoned by unilateral economic, commercial and financial sanctions, which in some cases even have extraterritorial consequences. We have seen such actions undermine the positive socio-economic gains made by Cuba over the last few decades, with the resultant deprivation of an entire populationâs human rights and dignity. The world stands to gain from a peaceful solution to the differences between the United States and Cuba, and we call on the 5 United States to settle its differences with Cuba through negotiations on the basis of equality and mutual respect. We are equally concerned by the effect of the imposition of sanctions by the Security Council against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. However, we are extremely pleased with the recent developments concerning the possible trial of the two suspects in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie. We call upon the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the Netherlands to engage in discussions with the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, directly or through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to arrive at trial arrangements which will offer appropriate safety measures for the two suspects. On Western Sahara, we call on the Security Council and the Secretary-General to continue their efforts for a peaceful and just solution to the persistent outstanding differences and for a free and fair referendum. We will not have a neighbouring African country recolonized by another African country. Ghana shares the concerns and frustrations of the international community on the deadlock over the Middle East peace process. We believe that initiatives taken so far in support of the process, including the Madrid and the Oslo agreements, as well as the principle of land for peace, are an adequate basis for a just and long-lasting settlement. The international community is unanimous in its determination to see a just peace in the Middle East, and the Palestinian question no doubt holds the key. My delegationâs condemnation of all forms and manifestations of terrorism and mercenary practices is rooted no doubt in their tragic consequences on the political stability as well as the economic and social development of States. Terrorist acts, in particular, are totally unacceptable as a means of seeking redress for any grievance, achieving political ends or supporting a cause. It is in this connection that we have condemned the recent terrorist bomb attacks in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam that claimed hundreds of innocent lives, injured thousands of people and caused massive destruction to property, as well as the persistent threat to Americans around the world. I am proud to say that since joining this Organization on 8 March 1957, only two days after acceding to independence, Ghana has remained true to its commitments to contribute to the promotion of international peace and security, the principal raison dâêtre of this Organization. Only three years after independence, in 1960, my country, Ghana, responded to the call of the Organization and committed troops and resources to the United Nations peacekeeping operation in what was then the Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Peopleâs Republic of the Congo. We have since remained actively engaged, consistently participating in the peace efforts of the Organization, in all regions of the globe. As I speak, Ghana is listed as one of the major contributors of troops to United Nations peacekeeping efforts, with personnel serving in eight United Nations missions in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Government and people of Ghana are indeed proud of our participation in these international peace efforts, even though it has been at great expense to our developing country. It is not a sacrifice in material resources alone, but also in human terms, as Ghana, as well as her neighbours, has lost her sons and daughters in these operations. We welcome the adoption last year of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. My country was among the large number that signed the Convention in Ottawa last December, and it is in the process of its early ratification. We hope that conditions will, in the not-too-distant future, permit the Conventionâs universal adoption, to enable us to rid our planet of these inhumane weapons which continue to kill and maim innocent civilians long after the conflicts in which they were laid. We are sincerely of the view that the international community should pay greater attention to demining and rehabilitation, because of the havoc that the presence of mines wreaks on the economies of the affected countries as well as on the contribution of millions of peasants towards the feeding of their families. The United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, convened in Rome in June and July this year, is a welcome development in our collective effort to provide a legal and institutional framework to hold perpetrators accountable for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law. It is our sincere hope that the spirit of compromise that led to the overwhelming endorsement of the Rome treaty will similarly be brought to bear on the work of the Preparatory Commission, to ensure the early establishment of a fully functional and effective court. 6 Once again Ghana has the unpleasant task of joining others to express concern at the financial situation that persists in the Organization, characterized by very little cash and huge arrears. The persistent critical financial situation places our Organization in jeopardy at this time of reform. It is regrettable that a number of States are neither paying their assessed contributions nor making full payment of their arrears, while some persistently aggravate the situation by attaching unreasonable as well as unacceptable conditions or benchmarks to the discharge of their Charter obligations. In this respect, let me admit that there are very small but extremely rich countries among us who could have helped without making a dent in their national wealth and resources. Support for the United Nations must be demonstrated not in pious proclamations but in the willingness of all Member States to meet Charter obligations to the Organization, including payment of our contributions to ensure that the Organization is put on a sound financial footing to tackle its mandates and pressing commitments. I wish to conclude by expressing once more my delegationâs appreciation to the Secretary-General and to the Assembly for the comprehensive reforms being undertaken to restructure, revitalize and democratize the United Nations. I congratulate most sincerely the Secretary- General and the Assembly on their achievements so far. And I assure you that my delegation, my country, will continue to work with you in this reform process and in all aspects of the Organizationâs work in order to ensure that the Organization continues in the twenty-first century to better serve the global community and generations yet to come in the maintenance and enhancement of our collective security and the promotion of international cooperation to advance the economic and social well-being of all our peoples. That happens to be the vision of the founding fathers of the United Nations. And this is our commitment.