President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana has delivered a wide-ranging address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly, issuing a stern warning against rising political division while making a forceful case for institutional reform and equal international partnership.
Opening his address with a reflection on human unity and identity, President Mahama observed that “belonging anchors us; it reminds us that we are part of a human story far larger than ourselves”. However, he warned world leaders of the dangers posed when national identity is exploited for political ends, noting that “when weaponised by political expediency, it transforms into nativism, chauvinism, xenophobia and the dangerous prejudices extended to those who are deemed different”.
In a firm defense of universal equality, the Ghanaian leader stressed the moral foundation upon which the global body was established. “No race is superior. No nation is inferior,” he stressed, adding that “no child’s life is worth less because of the language they speak, the faith they profess, the colour of their skin, or the land of their birth”.
Turning to historical justice, President Mahama recalled his pledge last year to secure international recognition of the transatlantic trafficking and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity — a position formally affirmed by the Assembly in March. Addressing critics of the effort, he noted: “Some cautioned that we were reopening old wounds,” but “we came to seek healing”.
Addressing economic and diplomatic ties with the continent, the President rejected traditional donor dynamics, stating clearly that “Africa does not seek charity. Africa seeks equal partnership anchored in mutual respect”.
A central focus of his address was the structure of global governance itself. President Mahama argued that Africa’s continued exclusion from permanent membership of the Security Council was “fundamentally unacceptable in the 21st century”, demanding permanent representation for the continent complete with full rights and veto powers.
“Security Council reform is not a favour to Africa; it is an imperative for the legitimacy, credibility, and survival of the United Nations,” he added.
Assessing the broader international landscape, he warned of “a dangerous drift toward unilateralism, lawlessness, and the erosion of multilateral norms”.
On the ongoing conflict in Gaza, he urged diplomats and world leaders to “stop using diplomatic euphemisms to veil the human carnage”, whilst simultaneously reaffirming Ghana’s commitment to a two-State solution and condemning “all acts of terrorism by Hamas”.
Concluding his address, President Mahama identified climate change as “the ultimate test of global equity”, pressing developed economies to meet their obligations by providing “predictable, non-debt-creating grants” to developing nations facing severe environmental crises.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana