SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES GHANA'S ROLE IN UNITED NATIONS PEACE-KEEPING
Press Release
SG/SM/5823
SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES GHANA'S ROLE IN UNITED NATIONS PEACE-KEEPING
19951127 Following is the text of a toast delivered by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on the occasion of a luncheon offered on his behalf by Ghana's Presidential Adviser on Government Affairs, P.V. Obeng, in Accra on 27 November:Within 48 hours of its independence, in 1957, Ghana had joined the United Nations. The Organization was brought into being by its original members. But it was sustained by those who chose to belong to it as soon as nationhood allowed them to do so. Ghana has, for that reason, a very special place in the United Nations. And your remarks, Excellency, assure me that the United Nations has a very special place in Ghana.
Like African textiles, the United Nations is enriched by the diversity of its membership. That diversity is given strength by the interdependence of States in a common cause. National security can never be assumed when international security is in danger. This is why global peace demands an exercise of national responsibilities.
Ghana's role in United Nations peace-keeping has reflected this awareness. Twelve hundred soldiers, military observers and civilian police participate in its missions today. They are in Lebanon and Rwanda, in Western Sahara and the former Yugoslavia. A thousand soldiers from Ghana participate in the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG). Seventy-seven soldiers from this great country have lost their lives defending the United Nations cause, the cause of peace.
The quest for peace in Liberia has demanded human and material sacrifice from Ghana. It has also demanded the regional interest and direction manifest in the personal efforts of President Rawlings. His direct involvement in the pledging conference on Liberia helped raise commitments of $145 million for that Member State. I want to express to the President my deep gratitude.
At the same time it is a matter of deep concern that resources provided for ECOMOG fall far short of its needs. The ECOMOG must be supported, not only for the sake of Liberia, but in solidarity with the principles of regional cooperation so essential to global peace.
Ghana has offered sanctuary to thousands of refugees from Liberia and from Togo. I am encouraged by the progress made in pursuing the agreement between the Government of Ghana and the High Commissioner for Refugees on the return of refugees from Togo. It is my earnest hope that successful implementation of the Abuja Agreement will enable the voluntary repatriation of refugees from Liberia.
Your Excellency, Excellencies, allow me at this point to pay personal tribute to the distinguished sons of this great country who have served the United Nations so faithfully and well. It is still not easy to believe that Ambassador Ken Dadzie is no longer with us. He infused the pragmatics of economic cooperation with vision and intellectual discipline.
I should also wish to mention the long record of service that Kofi Annan has rendered to the Organization of which his present critical assignment is the most recent example. Ambassador Victor Gbeho served the United Nations ably as my Special Representative in Somalia. And Ambassador Amoako continues to serve the Economic Commission for Africa with dedication.
Your Excellency, events in recent years, in several parts of our world, have shown how the brutality of man to man only aggravates the dangers of economic deprivation and natural disasters. Nowhere is this truer than in Africa. Historically disadvantaged, economically dependent, this is a continent more than any other which requires a spell of sustained peace to get back upon its feet.
As an African, I cannot feel too strongly about this. As a citizen of the world, I cannot make my hope for that peace more fervent. As the world's first servant, I cannot make my pledge and commitment to that ideal any stronger. Many years ago, a great poet of this country wrote of people relegated to the world's extreme corner, who had nowhere to go but fall beyond. That is true for marginalization. That is its danger, when there is nowhere left to turn.
But the truth is also that those who push peoples and societies to marginalization will eventually find themselves on the margin themselves. This is why democratization, within and among nations, is so great an imperative. Solutions to global problems demand a democratic channelling of energies and collective empowerment of resources. If solutions are sought for only a few, at the cost of the marginalized many, a truly universal human order will not be possible to realize.
The new global political enthusiasm in addressing social and economic problems must be preserved and extended. In Cairo and Copenhagen, Vienna and Beijing, Rio and Nw York, leaders of our world have lent their imprint to tangible programmes of national action and international cooperation. This partnership, comprehending participation and pluralism, is our clearest guarantor for the future. It must be protected.
Allow me, Your Excellency, to propose a toast to the great nation and people of Ghana, and to the causes of democracy, peace, progress and liberty.
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