Our world is not a happy place today – Akufo-Addo tells 78th UN General Assembly

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has lamented the general state of affairs in the world, stressing that since the end of the Second World War in 1945, there has been “unhappiness”, “distrust” and a “lack of confidence” in the governance structures.

He observed that this stark reality is not peculiar to one region as it is evident in every area of life one turns to.

“I do not need to employ any hyperbole or nor find any fancy words to state the reality of the situation humanity currently faces,” he stated on Wednesday, September 20, when he delivered an address at the 78th UN General Assembly.

“Our world is not a happy place today.”

He further explained: “Wherever we look and in which ever area of our lives to which we turn our attention, there is unhappiness, distrust and loss of confidence in the structures that have guided the governance of the world since the end of the Second World War nearly eight decades ago.”

He addressed the Assembly on the theme: ‘Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability for all’.

He said the choice of the theme is even evidence enough that all is not well with humanity.

“The choice of the theme implies that there is general acknowledgement that things are not what they ought to be in our world.

“The mutual trust among nations that is required to ensure harmony has considerable diminished.”

He reiterated his call for reforms, blaming the situation on superpowers who led the formation of the UN decades ago.

“This organisation, the United Nations under whose auspices we the nations of the world are gathered for an annual review of the world, was established in the belief that our common humanity will be the overriding consideration in dealing with the problems that would invariably arise when we are dealing with one another.

“There is no doubt that the organisation has achieved a great deal in its 78 years of existence of which we can all be justifiably proud.

“But it is also true that the reluctance by the nations that were the major powers in the formation of the organisation to agree to any reforms to reflect present realities has led to the undermining of the credibility of the United Nations and some of its organs, in particular the Security Council.”