Ghana

My delegation wishes to express its satisfaction and joy in seeing Mr. Razali Ismail preside over the fifty-first session of the General Assembly. His unanimous election is an honour to him personally and also to his country, Malaysia, with which Ghana has forged very warm and special relations. We have no doubt that his sterling qualities and long record of distinguished service to his Government and the international community will stand him in good stead in leading this Assembly to a successful conclusion of its work. To his predecessor, Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, we wish to express our appreciation for the able manner in which he led us through very difficult negotiations during his presidency. Our Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, has demonstrated, through his indefatigable energy and commitment to the independence and well-being of the United Nations, that he is up to the challenges that lie ahead of us in seeking to revitalize this Organization for the twenty-first century. It was only a year ago that we celebrated with fanfare the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of our Organization. The world leaders assembled in this Assembly at that time once again rededicated themselves to achieving the visions embodied in the Charter of our Organization and fulfilling its goals and objectives, which serve the largest interests of humanity. We have gathered here again this year to take stock of developments since our last meeting and to renew, through various decisions and resolutions, our commitment to the promotion of peace and prosperity for our mutual benefit. The end of the cold war provides us with a golden opportunity to work earnestly in pursuit of the international community’s desire for general and complete disarmament — including nuclear disarmament — to be achieved under effective international control. Through the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and nuclear-weapon-free zones, most of us non-nuclear- weapon States are making our contributions in this respect. My Government is in the process of ratifying the Pelindaba Treaty, of which we are a proud signatory, and we appreciate the support of the non-nuclear and nuclear- weapon States for that Treaty. However, such zones can 20 only be given meaning by the nuclear-weapon States’ genuinely accepting the need for the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons within a given time-frame. It is with this in view that my country voted in favour of the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and signed it, despite its shortcomings. We see the Treaty as a first step in the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons in the world. We also join the Non-Aligned Movement in urging all nuclear-weapon States to conclude an international instrument that would offer unconditional and legally binding assurances to all non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. This will enable all States subscribing to international instruments on non-proliferation to cooperate freely and unconditionally in the application of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. We will also continue to urge that more attention be paid to conventional armaments and to efforts to enhance international cooperation to curtail and eventually prohibit the use of anti-personnel land-mines and other inhumane weapons, which continue to inflict untold damage and hardship on innocent people long after the conflicts in which they were deployed have ended. Similar attention should be given to international cooperation in curbing illicit transfers of arms. Success in this field will go a long way towards curtailing the availability of weapons, which feed the numerous conflicts we have had to contend with in recent years, to drug traffickers and terrorists. Internal strife within States, nurtured by racial and religious intolerance, and the resort to arms for the settlement of disputes threaten the very existence of a number of States in diverse regions of the world. In all of these States, the intransigence of warlords poses serious challenges to the capacity of the international community in general and the United Nations in particular to meet their responsibilities with regard to the maintenance of international peace and security. We have seen this in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Liberia and Haiti. The efforts made so far to deal with these conflicts are laudable, but more needs to be done. That is what we are doing in West Africa, despite the recent setbacks suffered from the attacks on forces of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in December 1995 and the outbreak of fighting in Monrovia in April and May 1996. Though the implementation of the programme for the disarmament and demobilization of the fighters, their reinsertion into normal civil life and the holding of democratic elections in Liberia, as set out in the Abuja Agreement, are now behind schedule, the meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Nine on Liberia, in August 1996 in Abuja, saw the Liberian factional leaders renew once again their support for the peace process and their pledges to cooperate with the efforts to bring the Abuja Agreement back on track. Thus far we have been able to restore the capital, Monrovia, to its status as a safe haven and reinstate the Council of State and the Liberian National Transitional Government. The ceasefire between the warring factions in the country has remained largely respected, although there are still disturbing reports of hostilities between some of the factions. We do appreciate the assistance of some individual countries to ECOMOG, as well as the cooperation of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia, but we wish to stress once again that these modest forms of support are grossly inadequate, viewed against the enormity of the tasks in Liberia and the present state of the economies of ECOWAS member States. The Liberian factional leaders are tired of the war. The subregion has been able to broker peace amongst them, but it lacks the means to provide the resources to implement the peace accord. The international community should respond to the call for resources now or run the risk of the situation deteriorating once again. We shall not tire of reminding the international community that this Organization, the Security Council in particular, bears the ultimate responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Regional or subregional efforts like ours can only complement, not substitute for, those of the international community, which must face its responsibilities more seriously in Liberia. For our part, we in Ghana have endeavoured over the years to play the role assigned to us within the limits of our resources in meeting our common responsibilities towards the maintenance of international peace and security. Since our participation in the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Belgian Congo — now Zaire — in the 1960s, Ghana has been present in almost all the continents where United Nations peacekeeping duties call, and we are indeed proud of our contribution to these international peace efforts. On the threshold of the twenty-first century, we cannot hide our amazement that some people and their God-given territories remain under colonial or alien domination and foreign occupation. Even more astonishing is the fact that some otherwise democratic, administering countries and colonial Powers fail to 21 recognize the inalienable right of the administered or colonial peoples to self-determination, and they fail to recognize that colonial domination is among the worst forms of violations of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of colonial peoples. It is therefore no accident that we should be gravely concerned at the continuing lack of progress on the question of Western Sahara. Despite all of its shortcomings, the settlement plan agreed to by the parties to the Western Sahara problem, under the auspices of this Organization, remains the best option for pursuing a long-lasting solution in the interest of the Saharan people. We remain concerned that the identification process has had to be suspended and the Identification Commission withdrawn as a result of the failure of the parties to agree on some relevant important procedures and modalities. To break the stalemate, dialogue is essential, and we once more call on the Assembly to encourage the principal parties to the conflict to engage, under the auspices of the United Nations, in direct talks that can open the way for the continuation of the identification process. Urgent attention and action is required to bring to an end the present unacceptable situation, which poses a veritable threat to subregional, regional and wider international security. In a similar vein, we take this opportunity to reaffirm our unflinching support for the Middle East Peace Process initiated at the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991 and culminating in the Oslo accords. Over the past five years, several gains have been made, giving rise to hopes that a just and comprehensive peace in the region is attainable that would take cognizance of the legitimate right to self- determination of the Palestinian people and their right to an independent state. We therefore see the recent outbreak of violence in the area as a set-back to those laudable efforts and as a reflection of a growing mistrust on the part of the parties. We call on them to honour all their commitments under the agreements reached and to bring the peace process back on track. In this connection we welcome the efforts of the United States Administration to bring the parties together once more. I should like at this juncture to refer to the question of the United Nations sanctions imposed on Libya. The Organization of African Unity (OAU), the League of Arab States and the Non-Aligned Movement, which represent the vast majority of States and peoples of the world, have been calling for some years now for the sanctions on Libya to be lifted. Our call for dialogue and negotiations that could lead to an acceptable solution of the dispute between Libya and the three permanent members of the Security Council, as well as proposals for a fair trial of the two suspects in The Hague, by Scottish judges and under Scottish law, have not elicited the expected response. Let it not be construed that our calls are based merely on sentimental considerations of regional solidarity. After careful examination of the facts as made known to the international community, and with due respect for the tenets of international law, we think that the three States concerned need to reciprocate the flexibility shown by the Libyan authorities and help to bring to a close an issue that has unjustifiably caused untold suffering to the innocent people of Libya. Issues of this nature justify our support for the establishment of an international criminal court for the promotion and maintenance of international criminal justice on a fair and equitable basis. The relics of the cold war in international relations remain particularly on the Korean peninsula and in United States-Cuba relations. We believe that the four-party talks proposed to ease tension on the Korean peninsula should foster dialogue, understanding and cooperation among all the countries concerned and enhance the process aimed at the eventual unification of the two Koreas. With regard to United States-Cuba relations, we hope that the blockades and mutual exchanges of rhetoric will give way to a new era of dialogue and mutual respect, in tune with current trends in international relations. As has been eloquently stated by the Secretary- General in his Agenda for Peace, there can be no development without peace, just as there can be no peace without development. We are convinced that we need to pursue development as a means of preventing most of the conflicts, tragedies and humanitarian disasters that confront the world today. We are enjoined under the Charter of the United Nations to “employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples”. The need for concerted international action to restructure the international economy; construct a new regime to guide trade, aid and resource flows; and address the problems posed by environmental degradation, population explosion, the debt overhang, abject poverty and disease in developing countries, cannot be overemphasized. Such measures would redress the existing global economic inequalities and eradicate poverty in a way that will engender the peace and security that we all so dearly need. As expected, the series of global conferences held recently under the auspices of the United Nations, which involved not only Governments but also non- 22 governmental organizations, civil society, the media and the private sector, have raised awareness of and built consensus around a number of overarching issues concerning economic growth and sustainable development. The time has come to shift into implementation gear and invest the same political will and energy in the monitoring of the follow-up process. We want to safeguard the environment and the welfare of our children, eradicate poverty, ensure sustainable development, and mainstream gender concerns in all our activities at the national and international levels, so that women and men participate fully and equally in all spheres of life as we approach the new dawn. It bears mentioning that Africa’s socio-economic difficulties are further compounded by the twin processes of globalization and liberalization. Africa therefore needs the special attention of the international community to ensure that the profound economic and institutional reforms it is undertaking to create an enabling environment for development yield maximum benefit for its people. The launching of the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative for Africa in March 1996, if fully implemented, would contribute meaningfully to this endeavour. We are painfully aware that international financial support for Africa is insufficient and unreliable. It is therefore necessary for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Africa to focus on the enhancement and strengthening of Africa’s subregional economic groupings, which will serve as building blocks for an African economic community. This in turn will ensure Africa’s effective participation in the emerging global economic order that is increasingly being shaped by the forces of globalization and economic liberalization. For our part, we in Ghana are coping, not without difficulty, with the challenges posed by these forces, including those that are concomitant with the structural adjustment programmes that we have pursued for well over a decade. Coupled with these are those other imperatives that come with the processes of democratization and good governance. Our democratically elected Government will present itself to the electorate on 7 December 1996 to seek a fresh mandate to continue with the policies that have ensured stability and development in our country in recent years. The entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is a welcome development, and we fully appreciate the numerous efforts and various compromises that contributed immensely to putting into place the various organs of the International Seabed Authority. We hope that adequate resources will be made available to enable developing countries to utilize fully the benefits, and also discharge the responsibilities, deriving from the Convention. The financial situation of our Organization remains precarious and a source of concern to my delegation. The crunch in the cash-flow situation has not changed for the better, principally because a number of countries, including some of the largest, are neither paying their contributions nor making good on their arrears. It is important for Member States to provide the United Nations system with the means and resources required to accomplish the tasks assigned to it. Support for the United Nations should manifest itself not only in an eagerness to restructure it to make it more effective, but also in the payment in full, on time and without conditions of assessed contributions, in order to promote the successful pursuit of the objectives of the Organization at a time of both challenge and opportunity. In addressing the cash-flow situation, we also wish to deplore the high degree of wastage and overlap in the system, especially during the start-up and liquidation phases of peacekeeping operations as well as in the proliferation of mandates. With the consolidation of the internal oversight mechanisms into the Office of Internal Oversight Services, coupled with the existing external oversight mechanisms, it is hoped that the financial functioning of the Organization will be more cost- effective. I should like to conclude by reaffirming my delegation’s support for the reforms currently being pursued by the United Nations. In our view, the reforms in the financial administration of the Organization, the revitalization of its economic and social structures, the strengthening of the General Assembly and the Secretariat, and the restructuring of the Security Council all should contribute to a better functioning United Nations suited for the challenges ahead of us as we enter the new millennium.