President John Dramani Mahama has urged the United Nations to undergo a “reset agenda” that includes reforms to the Security Council, a fairer global financial system, and reparations for Africa over slavery and colonial exploitation.
Delivering Ghana’s address at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Mahama said the UN’s current structure no longer reflects the realities of the modern world and continues to sideline Africa.
“If this were truly the case, a continent as large as Africa with its numerous UN Member States would have at least one permanent seat on the Security Council,” he said, calling for veto powers to be re-examined and made accountable to the General Assembly.
The Ghanaian leader noted that Africa’s participation in the founding of the UN was “minimal and relatively unimportant” because most countries were under colonial rule at the time. But, he stressed, Africa’s role in shaping the future would be significant given its demographics—projected to account for 25 percent of the global population and a third of the world’s youth by 2050.
Mahama also highlighted his administration’s domestic economic reforms under what he described as a “reset agenda.”
He cited a reduction in inflation from 23.8 percent in December 2024 to 11.5 percent in August 2025, a strengthened cedi, and renewed investor confidence. “Our 24-Hour Economy Initiative promises to transform our economy,” he said.
On global issues, the Ghanaian president was blunt in his criticism of ongoing conflicts. He condemned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, likening Israel’s military campaign to “crimes that must stop,” and reiterated Ghana’s support for a two-state solution.
He also raised alarm over Sudan’s war, which has displaced 12 million people, and urged equal treatment for refugees from Africa and the Global South compared to those from Ukraine.
Mahama demanded that the transatlantic slave trade be recognized as “the greatest crime against humanity” and said Ghana would move a motion in the UN to that effect. He called for reparations for slavery, colonialism, and the theft of Africa’s natural and cultural heritage.
The president also decried the decline in aid to Africa, noting a 40 percent drop in humanitarian assistance since mid-2024. He urged African nations to exercise greater sovereignty over natural resources, warning against continuing the cycle of foreign exploitation.
Mahama further called for the lifting of the U.S. blockade on Cuba, describing the Caribbean nation as a “faithful friend to Africa” that shed blood in the fight against apartheid.
In his closing remarks, Mahama congratulated UNGA President and Ghana’s Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the first woman to hold that office in Ghana’s history, and called for a future female Secretary-General of the UN.
“Words matter, but issues of representation matter even more,” he concluded.
