Ghana, 2012

In accordance with Ghanaian

tradition and custom, I would like to begin with a basic

but essential courtesy by expressing, on behalf of the

Government and people of my beloved country, our

deepest gratitude and most profound appreciation to the

United Nations and to the numerous world leaders who

mourned with us following the sudden and untimely

death of our former President, Mr. John Evans Atta

Mills. Ghanaians were touched by the many heartfelt

messages of condolence and the glowing tributes that

poured in from all over the globe. Those messages of

goodwill strengthened us and enabled us to transcend

the adversity of an occurrence that was unprecedented

in the history of Ghana.

Mr. Mills was a dedicated and honourable

statesman. He committed himself to bringing about

improvement not only in the lives of Ghanaians but also

in the lives of all other Africans, and indeed in the lives

of individuals throughout the world. His death was a

significant loss, and I am certain that he will be sorely

missed by the international community.

With the first-hand knowledge of what it means

for a nation to lose its leader, I also want to take this

opportunity, on behalf of all Ghanaians, to extend

condolences to the people of Ethiopia, Malawi and

Guinea-Bissau, who also suffered the untimely demise

of their sitting Presidents. May the souls of these great

men, who gave so self lessly and helped to move our

nations forward, rest in perfect peace.

One of the lessons that I learned from the tragedy

of Mr. Mills’s death — and it is a lesson worth

sharing — is that it is during times such as these, times

of great sorrow and pain, that we often reveal the very

essence of who we are. That is as true of nations as it is of individuals. Over the past few months, Ghanaians

have shown ourselves to be resilient and respectful of

the values that promote peace and the institutions that

safeguard the stability of our democracy. In our process

of healing from that great loss, we have become more

united and more determined to stay the course that we

began in 1957, when we became the first sub-Saharan

African nation to gain independence. In the process

of healing, we have become more confident than ever

before in our ability to create a better Ghana for our

children.

Today’s assembly of Heads of State is being held at

a most critical time. Our world is being confronted with

a number of significant challenges. War, conflict and

strife are very much features of our present existence.

Poverty, disease and famine continue to cripple the

lives of many. Oppression, discrimination, illiteracy

and unemployment still stif le the potential and shatter

the hopes of millions.

Although examples of such conditions can be found

on every continent, for a while, whether rightly or

wrongly, they seemed to be automatically and primarily

associated with Africa. Perhaps that is why it gives me

such great pleasure to lead my address to the General

Assembly at its sixty-seventh session with news of

progress from Ghana and stories of success from the

African continent. Today, Africa boasts of some of the

fastest-growing economies in the world, with Ghana

being one of them. The number of countries engaged in

conflict is steadily decreasing year after year. As that

happens, we are also witnessing a steady increase in the

number of countries that are governed along democratic

lines. As is true of all new democracies, those systems

are not without their f laws. While they may not be

perfect, however, they are promising.

In fact, three African countries that lost their

leaders this year — Ethiopia, Malawi and, of course,

Ghana — experienced seamless and peaceful

constitutional transitions of power to a new leadership.

Members can see that, right now, something spectacular

is happening in Africa. Growth is taking the place

of stagnation; tranquillity the place of turmoil; and

democratic governance, founded on the rule of law, the

place of dictatorship.

There is no denying the visibility and viability of

such significant developments. At the very least, they

require a re-examination of the long-held views and

misconceptions about the African continent. Those developments must also find expression in the manner

in which developed nations relate to Africa. In many

ways, that is already taking place, but the shift has only

just begun. There is still much room for improvement.

However, I am inspired by what I see, which are

limitless possibilities for Africa and its engagement

with the rest of the world.

As the United Nations Human Development Index

attests, we in Ghana have made tremendous strides in a

number of areas, with the aim of improving the living

conditions of our people. Ghana is on track to achieve

the targets set under the Millennium Development

Goals. Significant progress has been made in the

following areas: reducing poverty, gender parity in

school enrolment, universal primary education, the

provision of safe drinking water and the fight against

HIV/AIDS.

Unemployment is a challenge that exists on a

global scale. Nearly all nations, be they developed or

developing, are grappling with finding ways to tackle

that potential threat to their economic stability. In

Ghana, we are attempting to deal with the problem as

aggressively and as effectively as possible by finding

long-term and sustainable solutions. That includes a

programme that we will launch to encourage young

people to become entrepreneurs, owning their own

businesses and thereby becoming employers rather

than employees.

In Africa, to say that the youth are our future is

slightly misleading. Nearly 60 per cent of the continent’s

entire population is below the age of 35. Our young

people are not only our future, but also our present. In

Ghana, we have been working assiduously to empower

and support our youth so as to ensure that they will not

be left behind owing to fast-changing global economic,

educational and social priorities.

The Government is implementing several social

protection programmes across various sectors to cushion

the poor and the vulnerable and to ensure that the fruits

of our economic growth are distributed equitably. Under

those programmes, massive investments have been

and are still being made in education, health care, the

modernization of agriculture, the social infrastructure

and direct payments to the poorest households.

In furtherance of our battle against HIV/AIDS, a

new five-year national strategic plan has been launched

to consolidate the gains already made in reducing the

prevalence of the disease. Under the new plan, our target

is to achieve the virtual elimination of mother-to-child

transmission and to expand access to antiretroviral

therapy for persons living with HIV/AIDS.

The Government of Ghana has committed

approximately $80 million as its contribution to the

financing of the new strategic plan. However, that is

not enough. We now find ourselves in a rather ironic

situation that is threatening the advances we have made

thus far. Ghana, like several other developing countries

that have made remarkable headway in combating

HIV/AIDS, is becoming a victim of its own success.

As the numbers associated with the disease — the

rates of infection and the mortality — go down, so

too do the figures in the global funding for HIV/AIDS

programmes. That leaves a considerable financing gap

for many African countries, such as Ghana, that are

trying not only to maintain their progress but also to

move closer to the complete eradication of the disease.

In 1992, under the Constitution of its fourth

republic, Ghana established itself as a multiparty

democracy. Since then, we have held five successful

elections, which have resulted in the smooth transfer

of power from one democratically chosen leader to

another. When it comes to transparency in the electoral

exercise, Ghana is, in fact, held up as an example of

excellence.

We are just a few weeks away from conducting

our sixth presidential and parliamentary election. As

President, I wish to assure the international community

that that election will also be free, fair and peaceful.

I am so certain of our stability through that process

that I extend a warm welcome to any individual or

organization that would like to come and monitor our

elections.

The commitment to peace that I have pledged in

the past, and which I am pledging anew today, is in

keeping with a long-standing tradition that Ghana has

established domestically and internationally. In the

1960s, when Ghana deployed 8,800 soldiers to what

is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, it went on

record as the first African country to participate in

a United Nations peacekeeping mission. Since then,

Ghana has continued to be an active and key partner

in the United Nations peacekeeping programme. It was

recently ranked among the 10 largest contributors of

personnel to peacekeeping operations over the years.

Currently, we have troops in five peacekeeping theatres

throughout the world.

Ghana’s consistent championing of peace is neither

accidental nor coincidental, but by design and by

determination. We have always recognized that peace is

critical to development and to the overall improvement

and enrichment of our people’s lives. It is therefore no

wonder that, in 1961, when United States President

John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps, its very

first mission was in Ghana.

In the past two decades, Ghana’s position on peace

has been tested again and again as the West African

subregion was ravaged by one civil war after another.

However, we held firm to that position and will continue

to do so.

Because Ghana wishes to coexist harmoniously

with all our neighbours, when legislating policy, we

are always conscious of the importance of peace. When

offering asylum or a safe haven to refugees, we are

always protective of our borders, making certain that

political conflict and ethnic tension do not cross over

onto our soil. The unfolding tensions in Côte d’Ivoire

and Mali have been and continue to be of particular

concern to us.

Let me say that Ghana will not allow its territory to

be used to destabilize any other nation. We will not be

the storehouse for any resources or weapons that may

be used to disrupt the peace and development of another

nation. We will not harbour any individual or group

whose intent is to use Ghana as a base of operations to

undermine the safety and security of our neighbours.

We will work under the ECOWAS protocol and

will utilize whatever other tools of diplomacy are

at our disposal to ensure that security and peace are

established in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire and that those

countries find a place alongside their fellow African

countries in the continent’s march forward towards

prosperity.

Ghana has a strong belief in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights. Under the principle

of the self-determination of peoples, Ghana was the

first sub-Saharan country to emerge from colonial

domination. Our nation’s founding father, Mr. Kwame

Nkrumah, proclaimed that the independence of Ghana is

meaningless unless it is linked with the total liberation

of the African continent. In keeping with that right of

self-determination, we wish to restate our support for an

independent, prosperous Palestinian State, coexisting

peacefully with a free, stable Israeli State.

We also reiterate our opposition to the continuous

blockade on Cuba and call for an immediate lifting of

that embargo.

The twenty-first century can readily be described

as the century for Africa. Last year, of the 10 fastest

growing economies in the world, six were African.

Ghana, my own country, posted one of the highest

gross domestic product growth rates, reaching as much

as 14 per cent. Foreign direct investment amounted

to some $1.5 billion across various sectors. That type

of sustained growth in combination with security and

democracy can only ensure an Africa that will bear no

resemblance to the ghost of its former self. It will be an

Africa where we create equal opportunities for women

to realize their full potential and where there is respect

for the rights of all human beings. The new Africa will

wean itself from handouts and humanitarian relief. It

will not continue to succumb to the corruption and

oppression of despots.

The new Africa will stand on the world stage as

a mutual partner. True partnership, of course, must

be based on equality. When the founding fathers of

the United Nations established the Security Council

some 66 years ago, it was based on the reality of the

time. Almost seven decades later, the paradigms and

dynamics of the world have shifted dramatically. The

lines that divided our world and categorized it into

hierarchies of first and third worlds — those lines were

drawn by settlers transforming once sovereign lands

into colonies and territories — all of those boundaries

have now become blurred.

Technology has made information more

immediately accessible to the general public and

individuals more accessible to one another. The world

that we know today is not the same world our fathers

and grandfathers knew. Our world is smaller, more

integrated and familiar.

The current realities call for greater inclusion in

order to consolidate our common security. They inform

Ghana’s call for an expansion of the Security Council

to admit more members in order to have a meaningful

impact on the many challenges that we all face. Africa

is ready for that true and sincere partnership. Our time

has come.