Third Committee, 12th plenary meeting United Nations General Assembly, 81st session

DEBATE ON AGENDA ITEM 68 ON THE “ELIMINATION OF RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE” TO BE DELIVERED DURING THE THIRD COMMITTEE PLENARY MEETING.

Emmanuella K. Agyeman
Third Committee Expert
8th October 2026
Conference Room 1
United Nations HQ
New York

Madam Chair,
Ghana aligns itself with the statement of the African Group. We now speak in our national capacity.

Ghana attaches serious importance to the issue of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Twenty-five years ago, the international community adopted a comprehensive framework to confront this phenomena. The Durban Declaration affirmed our shared responsibility to address historical injustices and dismantle the structures that perpetuate inequality.

Today, our world is witnessing worrying trends as racial discrimination, racism, xenophobia and related intolerance continue to manifest themselves in various forms.

Ghana condemns all forms of racism and acts of racial discrimination and applauds the ongoing work of the Committee on the Eradication of Racial Discrimination, the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples to eradicate racism and uphold the principles of equality and non-discrimination. President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana spoke the timeless truth when he stated in his address to the General Assembly that no race is superior and no nation is inferior.

Madam Chair,
Ghana affirms that historical injustices, including the slave trade, apartheid, are major sources of racism, and manifestations of racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. It is in this spirit that Ghana views the adoption of the recent landmark General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/250 on slavery as positive demonstration of the will of the international community towards addressing the consequences of historical injustice. This demonstrates the will of the international community to address the enduring consequences resulting from the slave trade and related historical injustices and biases. Ghana calls on all member states to implement the objectives of the resolution in advancing educational initiatives and programmes, memorialization and changes to laws and services to address racism and systemic discrimination.

Madam Chair,
Let our diversity be the converging point which brings us together and not a form of superiority of one race over the other.

I thank you.