BY: Komla Adom
The United Nations has called on governments around the world to reaffirm their commitment to empowering the marginalized and desperately vulnerable in their respective countries.This was contained in a message from the United Nations Secretary General,Ban Ki Moon,read by the UNAids country director H.E Girmay Haile,at the 69th United Nations Day flag-raising ceremony at the forecourt of the state house on Friday,October 24,2014.
As part of activities to celebrate the intergovernmental body's 69th anniversary the world over,a ceremony was held in Accra to commemorate the day,while celebrating the giant strides the body has made since signing the charter in 1945.
The United Nations pledge to people around the world to end assaults on human dignity has since been bedeviled with the emergence of multiple crises,recent among which is the Ebola scourge,threatening the lives of thousands in and outside the sub-region.
Speaking at the ceremony,the UNAids country director,Girmay Haile who represented the United Nations Resident Coordinator ad interim,Susan Namondo Ngongi,said,the diversity of the global crises facing the world today are particularly challenging for low and middle-income countries including Ghana,hence the need for global citizenship in combating them.
"The threat of Ebola,combined with the recurrent challenges such as cholera,and the long-term challenge of poverty which is compounded by ever more pronounced social and economic inequality around the globe stretches the capacity of many governments in providing adequate and effective response.Never before has it been more important to protect the most vulnerable populations to
ensure the upkeep of progress we made in international development over the years", he said.
The focus of the United Nations in Ghana,he added,lies in the empowerment of girls and women,who have long been the most vulnerable groups of populations in Ghana and globally,by addressing priority issues of maternal mortality and the gap between boys and girls.
He commended the military,police and other forces who have offered and continue to offer their lives on peace-keeping missions in crises-ravaged countries to save lives and property.
On his part,the Youth and Sports minister,Mahama Ayariga reiterated government's commitment to the continuous fight against the global crises,adding that government's initial acceptance and subsequent action to host the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in its national capital is one such intervention and contribution towards the renewed fight against the deadly disease.
He added,that the collaboration between government and agencies of the United Nations would only intensify as the fight against HIV and AIDS,poverty,human right abuse,illiteracy,terrorism,climate change and Ebola continues.
Investment in the education of the youth,whom he describes as the present and future of the country,should be seen as an active catalyst in this fight,since they are a store of abundant human resource with limitless potentials to make significant contributions in this regard.
"On the occasion of this UN day,we salute our military and police personnel who sacrifice their lives to bring peace,security and development to brothers and sisters living in war situations around the world.Some of our peace-keepers have paid the ultimate price,that others may live and enjoy their lives.To their families and loved ones,our deepest condolences,their sacrifices are not in vain,they shall forever be in our minds as the finest and the best ", he said.
The flag-raising parade was made of two contingents drawn from the Ghana Air force and in attendance were chiefs and traditional heads,security chiefs,members of the diplomatic corps,government functionaries and some senior high school students.
United Nations day is a day set aside by the UN General Assembly and commemorated on October 24 each year around the world,to highlight,celebrate and reflect on the work of the intergovernmental body.
This year's celebration was under the global theme:"Global Citizenship and Youth". With the understanding of the global theme,the celebration in Ghana was themed : " Youth Engagement For Effective Nation-Building".
Pictures courtesy GNA
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