Condemn attack on UN peacekeepers - Foreign Minister presses Commonwealth
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called on the Commonwealth to condemn the recent attack on United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in Lebanon, and the removal of tariffs and trade barriers among Commonwealth member states.
Speaking at the 26th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in London yesterday, Mr Ablakwa warned that attacks on UN peacekeepers could undermine global peacekeeping efforts and the principles of multilateral cooperation.
His comment came on the back of the attacks on the Ghana Battalion (GhanBatt) Headquarters in southern Lebanon, also known as “Camp Obeng”, last Friday evening amidst fire exchanges between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah, a militia group labelled as terrorist by at least 27 countries, which is operating in Lebanon.
The minister described the attacks on the GhanBatt Headquarters, which had left three Ghanaian soldiers in critical conditions, as an attack on the “UN Charter”, and demanded full-scale investigations into the incident.
“On our way in, our peacekeepers in Lebanon were attacked.
As we speak, three of them have undergone multiple surgeries. An attack on UN peacekeepers is an attack on multilateralism. It is an attack on every principle that the UN Charter exists to defend.
“So, we urge the Commonwealth to roundly condemn this attack and to demand immediate investigations so that peacekeepers will know that the sacrifices they make, leaving their families, their children, staying in harm's way to maintain global peace and stability, means something to us, and that we will not countenance such untoward and unwarranted attacks.
“We have demanded investigations, and we hope that the United Nations will act promptly,” he said.
Indeed, the Ghana government has petitioned the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to initiate investigations into the attack and ensure accountability for the attack on Camp Obeng.
Tariff barriers
Mr Ablakwa also urged the Commonwealth to institute the removal of tariffs and trade barriers among member states to enhance the economic cooperation among member states.
The removal of trade barriers among 56 independent countries making up the Commonwealth, from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific, would create a big market for an estimated 2.7 billion people as part of efforts to deepen economic cooperation and expand trade opportunities.
The minister asserted that when barriers were removed, member states could also take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to pursue economic diplomacy as Commonwealth states.
“We hope to share our thoughts, particularly in offering the Commonwealth as a different multilateral organisation that does not believe in tariff wars, but will remove tariffs and trade barriers and ensure that we are able to enhance our fortunes as we pursue economic diplomacy, particularly as Ghana hosts the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat,” he said.
Mr Ablakwa commended the Commonwealth, however, for outlining reforms that would benefit member states.
UN Resolution
The Foreign Affairs Minister also called on the Commonwealth to support the resolution to be tabled at the UN General Assembly seeking to have the transatlantic slave trade, slavery, colonialism and apartheid recognised as crimes against humanity.
The resolution, which will be tabled by President John Dramani Mahama at the UN on March 25, this year, also seeks for reparations and reparative justice for countries in Africa and members of the Commonwealth.
Mr Ablakwa appealed to member states to rally behind the initiative ahead of a vote scheduled for March 25, saying it represented an important step towards global recognition of the historical injustice and the pursuit of reparative justice.
He added that the initiative had received backing from the African Union, reflecting a strong continental consensus in support of the resolution, while expressing confidence that the Commonwealth would do same.
“We know that we can count on the Commonwealth for reparative justice and restitution in this matter,” he said.
The proposed resolution at the UN forms part of broader international efforts to acknowledge the lasting consequences of the over 400 years of forcefully taking more than 15 million men, women and children from Africa to North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe as labourers on plantations and in industries.
The tragic history recorded that an estimated two million slaves died and were thrown into the oceans enroute to their destinations.
Meanwhile, March 25 has been set aside by the UN to be observed globally as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
