Full text of President J.A. Kufuor's address to the 57th meeting of the
UN in New York
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
A year ago, the entire world watched in
horror as terror was visited on the city that plays host to the United Nations.
It is a city that has welcomed people from all corners of the world for hundreds
of years and still remains for many, an irresistible magnet as the place for
opportunities.
We watched, all of us, from our different
parts of the world, as the terrible events unfolded. And if there had been any
doubt before, that experience convinced all of us that indeed, our world had
become a global village.
Modern technology enabled all of us to
watch the events as they unfolded, at the same time. The devastation and drama
of those events have since forcefully brought grief to our individual hearts,
across continents, races, religions and political ideologies. If ever there was
any doubt about mankind's shared humanity, that catastrophe conclusively negated
it.
A year on, we still bear the deep scars; we
have not forgotten, and we dare not forget, because what happened was not exclusively
against New York and the American people. Nationals of many countries, including
Ghanaians, perished in that tragedy. What happened was indeed an affront to civilization
itself.
Throughout the ages, whenever humanity has
found itself confronted with great danger, it is the sense of unity and common
purpose that has pulled us through. This is no exception. Indeed, the resilience
of New York, and the people of America, has brought about a spirit of
solidarity and generosity that is just as awesome to behold, as the tragic
event itself.
It is for this reason that I am optimistic
about the future. The work of the United Nations, the NGOs, and the growing acceptance
of the principles of good governance, human rights, tolerance for diversity of
views and the rule of law around the globe, make me optimistic. I can already
see, in my mind's eye, in the near future, a world where there is more
openness, more forbearance and less categorization of mankind.
Our nations have been brought together by
science and technology, and by conscience and also by adversity, and the acknowledgement
of interdependence amongst all peoples, has become a reality. And now, we are
moving from the concept of "beggar thy neighbour" to one of
"prosper thy neighbour", which should become the hallmark of the
Global Village.
Sadly, the continent of Africa still lags behind in many spheres, as poverty and disease plague the continent. But there is a new spirit abroad among the African countries. Africa has never wanted to be perceived as the "scar on the conscience of the world".
We do not want to be the objects of pity
and charity, and we do not want to provide the grisly images of war, disease,
ignorance, famine and poverty on the world's television screens. It was largely
as a result of our determination to shed this unacceptable image that many a country
on the continent, on attaining independence, desperately rushed into one or
other of untried ideology or economic model, that only tended to worsen the
woes of self-doubt, left by exploitative or unconscionable colonialism.
Today, under the aegis of the African
Union, the rejuvenated continental grouping, our countries have resolved to
tackle the continent's problems to enable us join the mainstream of the world's
development. We have pledged to endeavour to be honest with each other, and
under the Peer Review Mechanism, there will be no hiding behind claims of sovereignty,
to tolerate abuses of human rights in individual countries.
We are determined to strive for democracy
and good governance, not because these are fashionable buzzwords but because we
are convinced, that is the path to the surest, if not always the most rapid,
way to development that we require to uplift the conditions of life of our
peoples.
The technology exists, and the human
expertise abounds, in the world to end the degrading poverty and debilitating diseases
that sap the confidence of the peoples of Africa. This world assembly must
rally to help Africa in its genuine efforts to tap into the intellectual,
financial and moral resources of the globe, to be a worthy partner within it.
The NEPAD concept provides the framework within which African countries can be assisted
to become part of the mainstream. It provides a great opportunity for world leaders
to move from rhetoric to purposeful action.
Education has served as the route out of
poverty for people throughout the ages, and it should be the way out for us in Africa
as well. We have an essentially young population that is ready and anxious to
learn. Fortunately, the Information and Communications Technology provides the
avenue to help Africa leapfrog into the modern world. Let the world community
therefore assist Africa to join in the mastery of this powerful tool.
Ours is a well-endowed continent. Our raw
materials keep the manufacturing engines of the world running. Investing in Africa,
therefore, need not be for charitable reasons but for sound economic
considerations. The market potential of a thriving and economically viable
Africa will do wonders not only for Africa but also for the world economy at
large.
I am optimistic, because I think of what
Ghana and the African continent have contributed to the development of the
world. We have and continue to provide personnel of various calibre to all
kinds of institutions in the world. Ghanaian academics and citizens from many
African countries can be found in many top Universities and companies around
the world contributing significantly to the development of cutting edge enterprises.
Africans are in various jobs and are making considerable contributions to the
running of those organizations, including the United Nations. Perhaps, Mr. President,
this provides me the opportunity to express Ghana and Africa's deepest
gratitude to the international community for the confidence shown by the
re-election of Mr. Kofi Annan, our Secretary-General, to a second term.
In all these endeavours, however, the
missing link for Africa has been the solid and sustainable framework for good governance
to support the purposeful evolution of prosperous and stable nations on the continent.
It is for this reason that Ghana, like
other African nations, is trying to put her house in order to take advantage of
emerging prospects. We are nurturing our infant democracy, and the citizens are
passionately committed to the defence of the Constitution. We are putting in
place mechanisms to support good governance. The institutional framework is
being created to ensure an efficient public sector that can interface effectively
with an enterprising private sector to create wealth and eliminate poverty.
But, Mr. President, Ghana, like other
developing countries cannot alone, achieve the dramatic rate of growth that is required,
unless there are significant injections of outside investment in our economy.
We need affordable and sustainable sources of energy to be able to achieve
rapid development. We need the partnership, markets and support of the
international community to sustain our development. This is the message of NEPAD.
We are working to develop a positive economic environment to receive and to
integrate foreign direct investment as a tool for regional development. This is
the sure path for Africa to connect effectively into the Global Market.
Mr. President,
We in Ghana do appreciate our share of the
responsibility to protect the earth's resources that nature has given our
country for the sake of all humanity. The world cannot and must not
operate on the basis of the survival of the
fittest. Weaknesses caused by history and other factors must be taken into
account, and above all, our common humanity must inform all international
dealings.
We in Ghana see a lot of potential in
globalization. We wish to recommend, however, that an organization such as the
United Nations should provide the regulatory framework to ensure that the
benefits of globalization are more equitably distributed. The opportunities are
enormous for those who can take advantage of the move to more liberalized
markets and increased flows of investment capital.
But nature did not make all the peoples
equally competitive. The Global organization must, therefore, evolve systems of
safety nets to guarantee all humanity an acceptable minimum of dignity and
respectability. The United Nations Organization must respect this challenge.
Mr. President, for a cleansed and proper
development of the Global Village, certain initiatives by this Organization,
must be commended and encouraged. Ghana is in full support of the UN's effort to
curb the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. We urge the Member
States to join in the early implementation of the Programme of Action that was
adopted in 2001 to stop the trade. Much of the instability in Africa stems from
this trade.
Mr. President,
Women and children need our protection. It
is for this specific reason that in Ghana we have created a Ministry for Women and
Children's Affairs to enable us tackle issues that affect these two groups. We
have embarked on a vibrant educational campaign and are pursuing policy
initiatives that will create awareness and reduce the incidence of
discrimination against women and help improve their livelihoods. We are also striving
to banish child labour and enforce free and compulsory education for all
children up to the Junior Secondary School level as enjoined by Ghana's
national constitution.
I must mention the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which
is threatening the survival of our countries. The spread of the disease is compounding
our difficulties even further. I wish to pay tribute to the Secretary-General
for his interest, and the setting up of the special fund to help us fight the
menace. The Ghana Aids Commission is constantly seeking new ways to change attitudes
at all levels toward the disease, and we seek to learn from the experience of
others in combating it. We support the efforts of the international community
to provide more affordable antiretroviral drugs for the most needy.