Ghana, 2001

Mr. Han’s election to the

fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly is a tribute

to his vast experience and accomplished diplomatic

skills. It is also an honour to his country, the Republic

of Korea, with which my country enjoys the most

cordial and friendly relations. I ask him to please

accept our congratulations.

May I also express our gratitude and appreciation

to his immediate predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri of

Finland, for the able manner in which he guided the

work of the fifty-fifth session.

I wish to express the heartfelt gratitude of the

Government and the people of Ghana to the States

Members of the United Nations for having placed their

trust and the destiny of this universal Organization

once again in the hands of an illustrious son of Ghana

and of Africa, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the next five years.

The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded jointly to the

Secretary-General and the United Nations, is in

recognition of their devotion to the pursuit of global

peace and security. On this occasion, I can only

endorse the sentiments expressed by Mr. Annan that

the award should serve as an impetus to record greater

achievements in the service of humanity.

The last century witnessed laudable achievements

in the political, economic, scientific and technological

spheres. Despite these positive developments, history,

in the end, will remember it for the numerous conflicts

that marked it, with their attendant socio-economic

disruptions, environmental degradation, the emergence

of hitherto-unknown diseases and the persistence of

poverty among the majority of our people.

The tragic terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001

awakened the world to the new challenges confronting

international peace and security. The fight against

terrorism must be a collective action, guided by the

purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter

and of international law. Ghana welcomes the

international community’s response in confronting this

threat to peace and security. We also applaud the swift

response of the Security Council and of the General

Assembly, which not only condemned the attacks, but

also took measures aimed at confronting terrorism.

Resolution 1373 (2001), which outlines the measures

that all countries — irrespective of size, wealth or

might — should adopt to forestall and combat terrorism

must be pursued by all peace-loving nations.

As we forge ahead, our quest to free the world of

terrorism will be enhanced if we adequately address

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both the symptoms and the underlying causes that give

rise to such criminal acts. Developing countries should

be provided with the necessary resources to play a

meaningful role in confronting these challenges.

The recent threats and crimes against humanity

have reinforced our belief in the need for the early

establishment of the International Criminal Court, in

order to enable the global community to deal

appropriately with such phenomena. We therefore urge

all Member States that have not yet ratified the Statute

to do so to enable it to enter into force.

The proliferation of conventional weapons,

notably small arms and light weapons, has been of

great concern to the Government and the people of

Ghana. They are now the weapons of choice and the

tools for promoting violence and conflicts in Africa.

Such weapons have always been used against the most

vulnerable in society, especially women and children.

We therefore welcome the Programme of Action

adopted at the recent United Nations Conference on the

Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All

Its Aspects. While it does not respond to all of our

concerns or meet all of our expectations, we still

consider it to be the beginning of a process that will

lead to an internationally binding instrument on

managing and controlling such weapons.

Conflicts, particularly in the developing world,

have robbed us of the opportunity to improve the

circumstances of our people. Sustainable development

can be achieved only in an environment of peace and

security. Ghana will continue to live up to its Charter

obligations and to play an active role in international

peacekeeping, with a view to assisting the United

Nations in its task of maintaining global peace and

security.

Only a year ago, world leaders, at the Millennium

Summit, committed themselves to providing leadership

to create a better world, one which would uphold

human dignity, equality and equity at the global level,

through the elimination of poverty and the creation of a

conducive environment for development.

To achieve this, it is imperative that the

international community take steps to assist countries

that have created the necessary environment for sound

economic development. This will enable them to reach

their potential for sustained growth through conducive

policies concerning debt, market access, transfer of

technology, increased flows of capital and foreign

direct investment, and enhanced official development

assistance.

It is important, particularly at this moment when

the fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade

Organization is taking place in Doha, to emphasize the

critical role of global trade in generating the resources

for financing development in developing countries. The

outcome of the Doha Conference, our commitment to

pursuing the decisions and processes emanating from

that Conference, the implementation of the

commitments made in the Uruguay Round and how we

address intellectual property rights should clearly

determine our commitment to eradicating poverty

throughout the world.

We believe that the success of our efforts at the

global level will depend largely on the quality of

governance in our respective countries. We cannot

claim to uphold the dignity of every human being or

make claims to social equity if we fail to uphold

democracy and the rule of law, combat corruption and

strengthen the institutions of governance. It is therefore

gratifying to note that in the past few years democracy

has begun to take root in Africa. This trend should be

encouraged and consolidated with support from the

international community.

It is for this reason that Ghana fully endorsed the

Constitutive Act of the African Union, which, among

other things, rejects unconstitutional changes of

Government and reaffirms respect for democratic

principles, human rights, the rule of law and good

governance. The decisions we took in Lusaka during

the last summit of the Organization of African Unity

(OAU) on the African Union and the New Partnership

for African Development have reasserted Africa’s

leadership and responsibility for the continent’s

development agenda. Ghana intends to play its part

through positive diplomacy and cooperation with other

African countries to accelerate regional integration and

make Africa a zone of economic empowerment.

Africa accepts its primary responsibility for its

own development. However, the contribution of its

development partners will continue to be crucial. In

this connection, the outcomes of the International

Conference on Financing for Development, to be held

next year in Monterrey, Mexico, and of the World

Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in

Johannesburg, will be critical tests of our willingness

25

to tackle concretely the challenges we set for ourselves

in the Millennium Declaration.

At the onset of the new millennium, we hope that

gender issues will continue to engage the attention of

the international community. The adoption of the

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in 1995,

and the subsequent adoption of further actions and

initiatives by the twenty-third special session of the

General Assembly, last year, indicate the universal

recognition of the need to empower women as partners

in socio-economic development. As a result of the

great importance that Ghana attaches to the

advancement of women, our Government has elevated

the national machinery for the advancement of women

into a full-fledged ministry headed by a cabinet

minister. We are determined, through practical

measures, to make our women full and effective

partners in the development of our country.

Ghana welcomes the remarkable success achieved

by the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session with

the adoption, after protracted negotiations, of the

resolutions on the scale of assessments for the regular

and peacekeeping budgets. It is therefore our

considered view that both resolutions should ensure the

financial solvency and viability of the Organization.

In conclusion, I wish to reassure the Assembly of

Ghana’s abiding commitment to the United Nations and

its ideals. The Organization is the best means available

for maintaining international peace and security and

promoting fruitful international cooperation. We must

all resolve to strengthen our will to make it more

effective and to redeem the majority of our people from

wars, disease and poverty by providing it with financial

and material resources commensurate with its

responsibilities.