{"id":158402,"date":"2020-09-23T23:50:14","date_gmt":"2020-09-23T23:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/?p=158402"},"modified":"2020-09-27T21:06:39","modified_gmt":"2020-09-27T21:06:39","slug":"full-text-president-akufo-addo-addresses-2020-general-debate-75th-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/speeches-and-lectures\/full-text-president-akufo-addo-addresses-2020-general-debate-75th-session\/2020\/","title":{"rendered":"FULL TEXT: President Akufo-Addo Addresses 2020 UN General Debate, 75th Session"},"content":{"rendered":"

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA,<\/strong>
\nNANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO,<\/strong>
\nAT THE 75<\/strong>TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS\u2019 GENERAL<\/strong>
\nASSEMBLY, ON THE THEME \u201cTHE FUTURE WE WANT, THE UN<\/strong>
\nWE NEED, REAFFIRMING OUR COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT TO<\/strong>
\nMULTILATERALISM\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr President, Secretary General, a year ago, we were all looking forward
\nto what, we were sure, would be the grand celebrations at this year\u2019s
\nGeneral Assembly to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
\nInstead of the anticipated major gathering for the celebrations, we have
\nbeen forced to stay at home, and employ technology to make our
\naddresses to the Assembly.<\/p>\n

It is not only these celebrations that have had to be adapted to changed
\ncircumstances; our world has been turned upside down, and we have all
\nbeen forced to learn new ways of doing things.
\nIt would have been implausible to suggest, but we have learnt not to
\nshake hands or hug our loved ones. For many people, the most difficult
\nthing to deal with in these uncertain and unsettling times has been the
\nsilence forced on churches, mosques, temples and other places of
\nworship. Singing in groups has become a dangerous activity, and a major
\nitem which is preoccupying the attention of world leaders is how to send
\nand keep our children in school safely. All the sacred economic rules by
\nwhich we have been urged to conduct our affairs in the past century have
\nbeen thrown out, at least for the moment. Indeed, all our best laid plans
\nhave turned out to be of no use, when faced with the ravages of an
\nunknown virus. We, in Ghana, have, however, chalked modest successes
\nin trying to defeat the virus through resolute actions by my Government,
\nthe co-operation of the Ghanaian people, and the grace of the Almighty.<\/p>\n

Mr President, the lessons are clear: we all fell together and looked into
\nthe abyss together. Even as we closed our borders and shut airports, the
\nreality dawned on all of us that we had to rely on each other to be able
\nto get out of the trouble we were in. We have all gone down together, we
\nshould all rise together.<\/p>\n

If the answer to this pandemic lies in finding a vaccine, that vaccine should
\nbe made available to the whole world, rich and poor alike, developed and
\ndeveloping, all races and all beliefs. The virus has taught us that we are all at risk, and there is no special protection for the rich or a particular
\nclass. For as long as the virus exists, whatever medical solutions that
\nmight be found should be made available for all in aid of our common humanity.<\/p>\n

We are told by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
\nDevelopment (OECD) that COVID-19 has brought in its wake \u201ca significant
\nreduction in the financing available to developing economies\u201d, again, with
\nthe Organisation estimating that \u201cexternal private finance inflows to
\ndeveloping economies could drop by US$700 billion in 2020 compared to
\n2019 levels, exceeding the immediate impact of the 2008 Global Financial
\nCrisis by 60%\u201d. The restructuring of the global financing architecture, to
\nenable access to fresh capital by developing nations, now more than ever,
\nis of immediate necessity, if the gains chalked in transforming their
\neconomies are not to be eroded, and the standards of living of their
\npeoples are not to be dangerously lowered.<\/p>\n

Now is the time for this much discussed and much analysed institution of
\nours, the United Nations, to rise to the occasion.<\/p>\n

One of its agencies, the WHO, has been in the eye of the storm during
\nthis crisis, and all of us have to learn the lessons that have emerged. Yes,
\nwe should have arguments about the UN and its agencies and their roles,
\nbut, after seventy-five (75) years, the arguments should be like the ones
\nwe have in our families, and not about their very existence.<\/p>\n

We should correct the longstanding injustice that the current structure
\nand composition of the UN, particularly the Security Council, represents
\nfor the nations of Africa. Established in those far-off days of 1945,
\nmembership of the Council does not presently reflect the realities of the
\n21st century. The time has come for the adoption and endorsement of
\nAfrica\u2019s Common Position on UN Reform, as set out in the Ezulwini
\nConsensus, so we can create a modern United Nations fit for purpose in our time.<\/p>\n

We should also focus our attention on the 2030 UN Sustainable
\nDevelopment Goals, especially as we mark the beginning of the Decade
\nof Action to deliver the goals and targets of Agenda 2030. Mr President,
\nas co-chair of the SDG Group of Eminent Advocates, Ghana believes that
\nthe effective implementation of the seventeen (17) SDGs remains critical
\nmaking the multilateral system relevant in addressing the global challenges we face.<\/p>\n

Indeed, one such is the threat to the consolidation of democratic
\ngovernance, especially in Africa, in the face of turbulent conditions
\nprevailing in several parts of Africa. As the newly-elected Chairperson of
\nthe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), I say that
\none immediate test confronting the Community is the political situation in
\nMali, following the coup d\u2019\u00e9tat that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar
\nKeita, which has been compounded further by the activities of terrorists
\nand violent extremists, who are in control of large swathes of that country
\nand some parts of the Sahel Region. We have learnt, most often through
\nbitter experience, that terrorism and violent extremism are not restricted
\nto particular geographic locations or jurisdictions, as the impact of a single
\nterrorist incident in one part of the world resonates throughout the world.
\nIt is incumbent on the UN and, indeed, all Member States to lend their
\nsupport to the efforts being made by ECOWAS to restore normalcy to Mali,
\nand help us defeat the scourge of terrorism.<\/p>\n

Mr. President, the importance of technology has been reinforced in the
\ntime of the pandemic. Virtual meetings are now part of our normal lives,
\nyoung people have graduated in virtual ceremonies, and we might never
\ngo back to some of the many conferences that we used to attend, and it
\nis obvious that technology is the future.<\/p>\n

Ghana, therefore, welcomes and endorses the Secretary-General\u2019s
\nrecommendation, as contained in the Roadmap on Digital Cooperation, to
\nensure that no one is left behind. How else would we all have maintained
\na semblance of keeping in touch in the past six months, but for
\ntechnology?<\/p>\n

The political season is at its height here in Ghana, as we prepare for
\npresidential and parliamentary elections in December. Like everything else
\nin our world today, even the politicking has been affected by the
\npandemic, and we cannot campaign for votes in the style to which we are
\naccustomed. We are having to rely on technology to find ways of
\npopularising our messages in the time of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

It is a matter of great pride to me that, in spite of the difficulties in
\nconducting an election during a pandemic, I am able to state that all
\nGhanaians are agreed that we have to work together to ensure that the elections will be transparent, free, fair, safe and credible. This will be the
\neighth election since we embarked on constitutional rule in our Fourth
\nRepublic in 1992. Each of the elections has seen an improvement on the
\nprevious one, and we are looking forward to this year\u2019s passing off
\npeacefully, with characteristic Ghanaian dignity. We are keenly aware of
\nthe reputation that Ghana has built as a tolerant and working democracy,
\nand we have every intention to nurture and improve upon it.<\/p>\n

Paramount in everyone\u2019s consideration is the Ghana Project, which aims
\nto modernise all aspects of our lives, and bring prosperity to our land. I
\nhave no doubts whatsoever that, at the end of the elections, we shall be
\nproud of ourselves, Africa will have good cause to be proud of us, and the
\nrest of the world will find lessons to learn from us.
\nLast year, 2019, was an extraordinarily exciting year for us in Ghana. It
\nmarked the 400th anniversary of the start of the barbaric Trans-Atlantic
\nSlave Trade, and the arrival in America of the first captured slaves from West Africa.<\/p>\n

To mark this tragic anniversary, we declared 2019 the \u2018Year of Return\u2019,
\nand extended a welcome back to the African continent of the descendants
\nof the slaves who constitute the bulk of the black population in the
\nAmericas and the Caribbean. The invitation was enthusiastically taken up,
\nand a great time was had by all.<\/p>\n

We have every intention to keep a welcome mat laid out in Ghana for
\nmembers of the African Diaspora. We, in Ghana, live with the grim reality
\nthat the majority of the abducted slaves from the continent were
\ntransported to the Americas and Caribbean through the forts dotted along
\nour coastline. We owe it to their descendants to find a safe haven in
\nGhana, if they should need it.<\/p>\n

This responsibility means we have to make Ghana secure and desirable
\nboth for her present-day citizens and for those in the Diaspora that might
\nwant to come back either for a visit or stay.
\nI extend the best of luck to you all from Ghana, and look forward to a
\nhealthy and happy world.<\/p>\n

I thank you for your attention.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, AT THE 75TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS\u2019 GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ON THE THEME \u201cTHE FUTURE WE WANT, THE UN WE NEED, REAFFIRMING OUR COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT TO MULTILATERALISM\u201d Mr President, Secretary General, a year ago, we were all looking forward to what, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":158378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-speeches-and-lectures"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nana-UN.jpg?fit=600%2C382&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}