Shirley Ayorkor Botchway
Some Members of Parliament (MPs) have lambasted the United Nations (UN) for discriminating against Africa and some developing nations.
According to them, it was time Africa was represented on the Security Council of the world body with a veto power to be able to also fight for the interest of its people.
The MPs made the observation in commemoration of the UN Day and 72nd anniversary of the world body, which fell on Tuesday. It followed a statement the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, had made in parliament to mark the day.
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Nsawam Adoagyiri, said Africa has come of age and must therefore fight for its own unique identity.
He said it was time Africa also came out with its own development model since issues of poverty and hunger continue to afflict the continent, despite its long association with the UN.
He called on the UN to be more proactive in the fight against poverty, hunger and extremism.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh however, praised the UN for doing a yeoman’s job in preventing a third world war.
He said the association must also find a way of resolving the raging conflict among the US, the People’s Republic of North Korea and Iran over nuclear matters.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Ellembele, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, said the UN must do more to close the gap between men and women at the workplace.
He said it must be commended for carrying out a lot of humanitarian work across the globe.
The ranking member on the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, noted that despite the success the UN has chalked, there are a lot of problems and challenges it must deal with in the area of terrorism, increasing levels of poverty, hunger and widening educational gap between the rich and the poor.
Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway said that all over the world, governments would not be able to meaningfully engage the citizenry in nation building in a polarized and insecure political environment, adding that it should be the preoccupation of the UN to ensure a secure and peaceful world without which any meaningful development would only be an illusion.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr