The Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Ms Hanna Serwah Tetteh, has cautioned that the weakening of the global multilateral system poses a significant threat to developing countries, particularly in Africa.
She said countries with limited political and economic influence were likely to suffer most if international cooperation continued to decline amid growing geopolitical tensions.
Delivering the keynote address at the 21st Kronti ne Akwamu Public Lecture organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) in Accra on Thursday, Ms Tetteh called for renewed commitment to strengthening and reforming the rules-based international order.
The lecture was on the theme: ‘The Changing Global and Multilateral Rules-Based Order: Implications for Ghana and Africa’s Strategic Positioning.’
Ms Tetteh explained that the multilateral system, established under the 1945 United Nations Charter, was designed to address global challenges that could not be solved by individual countries.
She said institutions such as the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) remained indispensable because many contemporary challenges transcended national borders.
Describing the current global situation as a “five-alarm” crisis, she cited health, finance, climate change, the digital space, and peace and security as major areas requiring urgent collective action.
She said the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed the world’s vulnerability to health emergencies, while the global financial system continued to disadvantage poorer countries through costly and limited access to financing.
Ms Tetteh also highlighted the growing threat of climate change, the spread of misinformation, misuse of personal data and rising violent conflicts, stressing that such challenges were “problems without passports” that no nation could resolve on its own.
She warned that failure to preserve and reform the multilateral system could deepen global instability and undermine the protection of human rights.
Earlier, the Chairman of the programme and President of the Council on Foreign Relations-Ghana, Ambassador D. K. Osei, urged African countries to strengthen continental integration to enhance their strategic position in global affairs.
He noted that recent developments within ECOWAS had exposed weaknesses in Africa’s multilateral institutions and called on governments to match their commitment to regional integration with concrete action.
BY ENOCH NTIAMOAH SIAW & NELLY QUARCOPOME
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