President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the global community to make the fight against terrorism and violent extremism a topmost priority.
While reaffirming Ghana’s commitment to the fight against the global canker, he stressed the need for terrorism and violent extremism to be fought from all fronts and at all levels.
Speaking at the UNSC Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York, President Akufo-Addo referred to a recent report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by Da’esh to the international community.
He also cited the 2022 Global Terrorism Index, and the 2022 report of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism, noting that they all speak about an increase in the incidence of terrorism and violent extremism across Africa.
“It is for these reasons that Ghana reaffirms her condemnation of all acts of extremism and terrorism and urges the civilised world to do the same. Our common humanity and existence depend on it,” he added.
He also bemoaned the steady transformation of Africa into an arena for violent extremism and terrorism.
To this end, President Akufo-Addo stressed the need for partnership across all levels, from the local to the regional to the global, noting that the effectiveness of the United Nations now more than ever rests on a co-operation that is both deeper and more robust with regional organisations.
Recommendation
Suggesting some points that can help in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, President Akufo-Addo said “in a rapidly changing world, enhanced co-operation between the United Nations and continental and regional organisations is needed to combat these emerging threats to international peace and security.”
He added: “In Africa, we have decided to fill the void by addressing the limitations that United Nations peacekeeping efforts and national capacities have in dealing with the menace of transnational terrorist threats. The Accra Initiative, which groups together Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso, and, hopefully, soon, Nigeria, is one such self-help regional security and intelligence mechanism, designed to assist in the fight against terrorism.”
President Akufo-Addo further suggested that bolstering cooperation and collaboration between the United Nations, continental and regional organisations should leverage existing strengths to enhance the development of a preventative approach, based on regional early warning mechanisms.
In his view, efforts in conflict prevention and mediation have demonstrated how working together increases our powers of persuasion to press parties to make peace and diffuse tensions in localities.
Among other things, the President underscored the need to reinforce the capacity of regional organisations for early warning and conflict prevention.
He pointed to an enhanced cooperation in the areas of intelligence, logistics, capabilities, training and deployment, as well as innovative financing arrangements, as ingredients likely to provide the quickest turnaround results in improving peoples’ lives, and in enhancing sustainable development.
He also applauded the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, for his thought-provoking address on this very important subject.
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