adverts
President John Dramani Mahama has issued a powerful call for urgent reforms to the United Nations (UN) and renewed international commitment to tackling climate change, describing the current global governance system as outdated, unjust, and skewed against Africa.
Speaking at the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, Mahama warned that the world is already “fighting a losing battle” against the escalating impacts of climate change, with vulnerable nations bearing the brunt of the crisis.
“Climate change is real, and we are fighting a losing battle against the loss of the Maldives and other island nations to rising sea levels, Timbuktu to desertification, and the Amazon Rainforest to global warming and deforestation,” he said.
adverts
His remarks came in sharp contrast to recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, who dismissed climate change as a “con job”.
Turning to the structure of the UN, Mahama strongly criticised the Security Council’s concentration of power, where only five nations—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—hold permanent seats and veto rights.
“The UN founding charter is outdated when it comes to representation. The most powerful post-World War II nations are still being rewarded with an almost totalitarian guardianship over the rest of the world,” he said.
Mahama argued that the UN Charter’s own principle of the “sovereign equality of all its members” is not reflected in practice, particularly when Africa, with over 50 member states, lacks a permanent seat on the Security Council.
“If this were truly the case, a continent as large as Africa with its numerous UN Member States would have at least one permanent seat on the Security Council,” he declared.
Mahama further questioned the legitimacy of the veto power, insisting it should not remain the exclusive preserve of five nations nor be wielded without accountability.
He proposed granting the General Assembly authority to challenge vetoes, warning that “no single nation should be able to exercise an absolute veto to serve its own interests in a conflict.”
Quoting former South African President Nelson Mandela’s 1995 UN address, Mahama reminded delegates of long-standing African calls for reform that remain unanswered.
“Thirty years later, we African leaders are still making the same request: for a permanent seat on the Security Council, with the power of veto. So today, Madam President, I stand here in this exact spot, asking: if not now, then when?”
Click the link Puretvonline.com | WhatsApp Channel to join the WhatsApp channel
GOT A STORY?
Contact/WhatsApp: +233243201960 or manuelnkansah33@gmail.com
