YouSaid · the spoken record

Baah

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS BAAH

lines on the record: 117
first: 1973-09-24
most recent: 1975-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“These problems cannot be effectively considered for the entire world community by a group of countries, however affluent or powerful they may be. Their consideration must not exclude any country, however poor or weak. 49. The degree of interdependence reached by our present world has internationalized almost every issue to a smaller or larger extent. Until we have recognized this reality solutions to the many problems which face the world community today will continue to elude us. If we seize the opportunity now we may yet usher in the world of plenty which we all seek. 50. My Government would like to express its sincere appreciation to all those countries which have responded to the call to come to the assistance of countries within the Sudano-Sahelian region.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“During the year world currency problems, which had been developing over a number of years, reached a high- water mark. The American dollar was devalued on two occasions and the currencies of European countries as well as that of Japan were either revalued or floated. In spite of 1 United Nations publication, Sales No. E.73.II.C.1. the existence of international machinery for consultations on monetary matters, developed countries met to consult on a solution to the problem as though the economies of the developing countries did not form part of the international economy. 48. In the view of my delegation, all issues, whether economic, scientific or political, have international repercussions; their solution therefore demands international consultations.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“In the face of this grim reality, it is only natural that developing countries should begin to attach less and less credibility to declarations of intent by developed countries. It is for that reason that my Government advocates and pursues a policy of self-reliance. 46. As stated in the charter of the National Redemption Council, the principle of self-reliance implies a recognition that our national regeneration depends on our own efforts, and that it is only through honest and hard work on the part of every citizen that Ghana can develop and prosper. Thus, while we welcome assistance from external sources, we are committed not to rely on foreign aid for the solution of our problems but instead to protect the wealth of the nation by active State participation aimed at capturing the commanding heights of the economy for our people. 47.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“Nevertheless, we launched the Second United Nations Development Decade. Statements made by various countries at the launching of the Decade gave rise to some optimism regarding the performance of the international community. Regrettably this hope has not been justified. The United Nations World Economic Survey, 19721 presents "a picture of unusual contrasts". While the economies of developed countries have been marked by a continued buoyancy, those of a majority of the developing countries continue to lag substantially behind targets set for the decade of the 1970s. On present performance the indications convince us that the Second Development Decade will end with its targets still unachieved. 45.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“It is, however, the view of my Government that if such a group of countries, by reason of historical antecedents or by any other factors, occupies a dominant position in the world economic structure, its actions should not fail to take into consideration the general economic well-being of the entire world community. This, in the view of my delegation, should be the guiding principle of an organization such as the European Economic Community or any other economic group. It is with this understanding that we African countries have decided to enter into negotiations with the European Economic Community. 44. In our effort to create a more equitable economic system we launched the first international United Nations Development Decade. Our stock-taking at the end of that Decade, however, showed that we were far from achieving our targets.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“In this situation it is not surprising that most developing countries are becoming perpetual debtors to developed countries with little hope of achieving economic viability. President Mobutu called on the world community to cancel the debts of the Sahelian countries affected by the drought. I would go one step further and suggest that serious consideration should be given to suspending indefinitely or cancelling altogether debts that constitute a barrier to and hinder a reasonable and accepted rate of economic growth. 43. This situation has been made even more complex by the present trend in the organization of the world economy into powerful economic groupings. My Government has no grudge against any decision of any group of countries to concert their economic efforts in their mutual interest.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“How can the under-equipped world — to borrow the phrase from President Mobutu — free itself from factors not inherent in the economies of the developing countries, as some people would want us to believe, but in the nature of the world economic system dictated by the developed countries. 42. The burden of the developing countries is not debt, stifling to economic growth though this might be; these debts are more symptoms of a sick world economic system. Developing countries take loans to improve their economies, but what do they find? The past decades have witnessed a steady rise in the price of industrial goods; against this, the prices of the primary products on which they depend for the modernization of their economies have been fluctuating downwards.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“In the first place, almost every developing country is in debt — debt that has come about often from the so-called foreign aid, a conversion of part of the resources which have been taken from our lands and which are now reluctantly returned to us at unbelievably high rates of interest with a number of subtle strings. The huge interest on these debts has accumulated over the years, and in some cases has exceeded the principal. How can debtor countries service these debts when their economic growth falls far short of what the United Nations itself considers acceptable and desirable?”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“Every year from this rostrum we are told of the ever- widening gap of relative economic growth between the developing and the developed countries; every year this Assembly is warned that this situation is inherently dangerous to world peace. It is relevant to ask, What has the world community as a whole, and particularly the rich, done to avert the inherent danger which we all, year in and year out, have foreseen and have stressed so often? 40. In assessing our performance in this regard, one cannot help but mention a number of factors that seem to my delegation to be clear pointers to the inadequate concern which the countries with the capacity to help arrest the situation have so far shown. 41.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“Countries like my own, which as colonies fought alongside the colonial Powers and their allies to preserve what we were made to believe was the dignity of the human person, have not been treated with an equal degree of concern. 38. If I have made reference to these historical events, it is not because it is my wish to subject this august Assembly to a lecture on a subject which representatives perhaps know better than I. My intention is merely to draw attention to a difference in the performance c f the world community in two situations which my delegation considers identical in all their aspects, except in their incidence. 39.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“What is interesting in this general effort at reconstruction is the manner in which countries capable of doing the most in this exercise have viewed the problem. Immediately after the Second World War, the Marshall Plan was established. Under that Plan, countries which were involved in the war, no matter on which side they fought, received economic assistance to reconstruct their economies. Some of the loans received under that Plan have yet to be paid back. Nevertheless, with the assistance granted, those countries have been able not only to develop booming economies but also to create a capacity to pay back loans.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“Twenty-eight years after the Second World War we are still struggling with the problems that war left behind. The national economies of countries on both sides of the war were shattered. Years of economic effort to raise living standards to decent levels were destroyed in five years of vendetta, vindictiveness, callousness and complete disregard for the human person and, indeed, for the survival of our planet. This same war brought in its wake an event which, though salutary and justifiable in its moral significance, none the less compounded the economic problems which faced the world and which continue to do so. This event was the emergence of independent sovereign countries, expected and willing to play their part in the general effort to reconstruct the economy of our planet. 37.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“It is the hope of my delegation that the Cocoa Agreement will not be the last commodity agreement to be concluded and that it will be followed by other commodity agreements. It is only when such agreements to stabilize the prices of commodities on which the economies of developing countries largely depend have been concluded that those countries can hope for a planned and sustained economic growth. 35. This century has seen a very significant change in the complexion of the world. Territories that were mere colonial appendages have acquired identities of their own and are endeavouring to shape their own economic destinies. They want now to establish their own economic identity within a world economic system. The question is not whether they will be able to do this, but whether they will be enabled to do so. 36.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“In the same spirit, we extend a warm welcome to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, whose presence here should remind us again that, for the purposes and aims of this Organization, no country is too small or too weak, no contribution by any Member State is too insignificant. 34. I should like to express the appreciation of the Government and the people of Ghana for the Cocoa Agreement which provisionally came into effect on 30 June 1973. It is hoped that the signatories to the Agreement that have not yet ratified it will do so soon and that those who missed the opportunity of signing it will accede to it in due course. The difficult course through which this Agreement has passed is a symptom of a cancerous growth that continues to plague our world community: narrow national interests constantly blind us to over-all global interests.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“His report to this session on the work of the Organization [A/9001] reflects a readiness and a capacity to further the interests of the world community. We are confident that he will continue to bring to his task the resourcefulness and diligence which he has demonstrated already. 33. We welcome the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany to membership in this Organization. This event not only strengthens this body but also furthers the course of detente in a region which has for many years been regarded as a major area of world conflict. It is our hope that the experience of these two States will enrich the capacity of this Organization in its efforts to make the world a better place for us all.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“I have no doubt that your qualities as a statesman and your varied and rich experience as a diplomat will assist you in steering the course of this session to a successful and fruitful end. My delegation wishes you every success in the discharge of the great responsibility entrusted to you. 31. I should also like to take this opportunity to express the appreciation of my delegation for the able manner in which your predecessor conducted the affairs of the twenty-seventh session of the Assembly. His performance was net lacking in patience, tact and diplomacy, without which this Assembly could not hope to conduct a successful business. 32. My delegation also wishes to express its appreciation of the work of the Secretary-General.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“29. Permit me, Sir, on behalf of the Government and the people of Ghana, to congratulate you on your election as President of the twenty- eighth session of this august Assembly. We are particularly happy to see you preside over the deliberations of this session because both your country and mine are dedicated to world peace; both realize that it is only under conditions of peace that our cherished aspiration of improving the living standards and the general welfare of our people can be achieved. 30. This session has on its agenda a number of items of great significance, not only to the countries that we have been accustomed to describe as the third world — of which your country and mine are a part — but to the world community as a whole.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)