President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has rallied the international community to be supportive of Africa in dealing with the rising conflicts and insecurity on the African continent. The conflicts, he said, would be more satisfactorily resolved ‘if the international community was to support, not undermine, the efforts of our regional and continental organisations to deal with them.’ ‘Africans fought and died in the Second World War in defence of Europe and her allies, who reset the world towards the path of peace and prosperity that their nations and citizens have enjoyed for decades now. ‘It is surely time for the world to reciprocate in our time of need,’ the President advised, in an address at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, United States. He expressed concern that the instability in the Sahel and widespread terrorist activities had put the continent under severe political pressure and economic strain. ‘Several countries in the region have lost vast stretches of territory to the rampaging terrorists. ‘Coup d’états have reemerged as what some mistakenly hope would be the solution to the threats that confront their nations,’ he said. The 78th UN General Assembly is taking place at a time of unprecedented setbacks on global progress. The earth is getting hotter, poverty and food insecurity are worsening, amid war and inflation. Humanitarian needs are escalating in scale and cost. Inequality is deepening, according to the UN. Thus, world leaders, including young leaders, will be discussing and debating how to confront the global polycrisis, and find strategies to accelerate action on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. President Nana Akufo-Addo appealed to the UN to strive to reform the composition of the Security Council to make it more relevant in dealing with the conflicts of our time. Additionally, he asked for the payment of reparations for the crimes committed in the course of the slave trade. ‘No amount of money will make up for the horrors but it will make the point that evil was perpetrated that millions of productive Africans were snatched from the embrace of our continent, and put to work in the Americas and the Caribbean without compensation of their labour,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency