High-Level Open Debate on Practicing multilateralism, reforming and improving global governance

HAROLD A AGYEMAN

Ambassador Harold Agyeman
Ghana’s Representative to the United Nations
Security Council Chamber
United Nations, New York
February 18 2025

 

HIGH-LEVEL OPEN DEBATE PRACTICING MULTILATERALISM, REFORMING AND IMPROVING GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

 

Mr. President,

At the outset, Ghana would like to congratulate China on its Presidency of the Council for the month of February and to express appreciation for the convening of this important open debate. In the past 80 years, since the founding of this universal Organisation, the United Nations has provided a strong foundation for global stability through the work it has carried out on peace and security, development, and human rights – the three (3) pillars of the work of the United Nations.

 

While it is a common recognition that the United Nations is not perfect, its very existence is nonetheless a testament to the realisation that no single country can go it alone, and despite the uneven distribution of benefits that the present structure of the international system delivers, together, as States, we are better off as partners of international cooperation than if we each pursued national advantage solely. Indeed, the experience of history is evidence of this fact.

 

Since Ghana became a member of this Organisation on 8th March 1957, two days after her independence, we have consistently shared this resolve and worked with other Member States to ensure that the Organisation works for all and in the interest of the peoples of the world. My delegation is however concerned by the growing ineffectiveness of multilateralism in addressing the many emerging challenges of the world and the lack of political will to address the systemic challenges we confront. Our collective inability to respond with deep and structured reforms, in a manner that reflects the reality of the world of today, 2025, and not of 1945, is distressing and holds profound dangers.

 

Mr. President,
For today’s debate therefore, Ghana would make three key points in support of her statement.
First, global governance in the international financial and economic sphere is under immense strain as we all see. Without reforms to the international system and institutions, such as the international financial institutions, the international debt architecture, the international tax regime, and the credit rating agencies, the contribution that the international financial and economic system is required to make on peace and security and on the dignity and well-being of individuals, as iterated in Chapter IX of the Charter, would not be realised and global instability could worsen.

We must therefore recommit to identified processes and make genuine and committed efforts for deep and structured reforms that deliver equal and effective benefits for all and not just a few powerful countries and rich individuals. That is the better way to deliver outcomes that enable our countries to enhance resilience and remove vulnerabilities.

 

Secondly, as many Member States have held strongly over the years, the structure and functioning of this collective security mechanism requires urgent reform. Africa, my region, has called for redressing the historical injustices in its representation on the Security Council and the Pact for the Future acknowledged this as one demand deserving priority consideration. But more so, several of the basic assumptions that undergirded the permanent membership of the Security Council and the privileged status of exercising a veto over substantive decisions of the Council no longer hold. Without going into the details on why this is so, Ghana believes that it should not be too difficult for any State to recognise that it is better to be a part of a reformed Council that is considered credible than one that is not credible or effective.

 

Moreover, as we did through our leadership of the A3 (at the time), now A3 Plus, in championing resolution 2719, Ghana holds that the relevance of the Council is enhanced by working with regional arrangements such as the African Union. This pathway must therefore be deepened, in good faith, to decisively address the emerging and evolving drivers of instability around the world such as terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organised crimes.

 

Finally, even as global leadership is not unified, to succeed in our common goals, what is required is a common commitment to the Charter, and its purposes and principles. The strong drive of dichotomy narratives such as those between democracies and autocracies may be useful for some ends, but faced with global challenges that none can individually address, we must paddle one canoe and not fracture the global system which has the potential to deliver, as a whole, more than its constituent parts. Ideological and political differences are not new, and in the present context we must adapt new methods in overcoming differences to work together.

 

Let me conclude by reiterating that as a firm believer in the principles of consensus-building and collective action, Ghana will continue to advocate for a more robust and inclusive global governance system. We remain committed to strengthening the United Nations and other multilateral institutions to ensure they are efficient, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of developing nations and the larger international community.

 

I thank you.