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President John Dramani Mahama has called for reforms to the United Nations, demanding a permanent African seat on the Security Council and describing the current global system as rigged against Africa.
Speaking at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly on September 25, 2025, President Mahama said Africa’s growing influence required greater representation in global governance.
“The future is African,” he told the assembly. “If this were true, and was 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. We also believe that veto power should not be restricted to only five nations, nor should it be absolute.”
The President described the current UN structure as outdated, pointing out that of the 51 founding member states in 1945, only four were African – Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia and South Africa.
He attributed this to colonisation following the 1884 Berlin Conference, which he described as “the partitioning and formal colonisation of the African continent.”
Mr Mahama used Ghana’s recent economic recovery to argue for Africa’s resilience.
He said inflation had dropped from 23.8 per cent in December 2024 to 11.5 per cent in August 2025, while the Ghana cedi had become “the best-performing currency in the world at one point,” according to Bloomberg.
He also noted that Ghana’s sovereign credit rating had improved and investor confidence was rising, adding that his government’s 24-hour economy initiative was set to transform the economy.
Drawing comparisons between Ghana’s Reset Agenda and reforms needed at the UN, the President said the organisation required recalibration after 80 years.
He pointed out that UN membership had nearly quadrupled since its founding, while global technological and geopolitical changes had reshaped the world.
Mr Mahama also called for a reset of the global financial system, arguing that it was structured against Africa.
He urged greater African representation in multilateral financial institutions.
On international conflicts, the President expressed support for a two-state solution for Palestine, insisting it “would not be a reward for Hamas” but relief for the many civilians facing “collective punishment.” He condemned the situation in Gaza, saying, “The crimes in Gaza must stop.”
He drew attention to the crisis in Sudan, where “twelve million people have had to flee their homes,” describing it as “the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.”
He urged the international community to support Sudanese refugees as readily as they had supported Ukrainian refugees.
Mr Mahama also announced that Ghana, in its role as “the African champion on reparations,” would introduce a motion recognising the slave trade as “the greatest crime against humanity.”
He said more than 12.5 million Africans were forcibly taken and transported to build the wealth of Western nations.
He called for the lifting of the blockade on Cuba, describing the country as “a faithful friend of Africa” whose citizens had “shed their blood on African soil in the fight against apartheid.”
On climate change and migration, the President noted that the global north emits 75 per cent more greenhouse gases than the global south, yet the effects are felt more harshly in Africa due to limited resources to respond.
“When the desert encroaches on our villages and towns and they become unliveable, we are forced to flee,” he said, warning against the normalisation of “cruelty, hatred, xenophobia and racism” towards migrants.
Mr Mahama also pressed for greater women’s representation.
He congratulated the Assembly President for becoming “the fifth woman to hold this distinction” and Ghana’s Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, for being “the first woman Vice President of Ghana.”
“Now every Ghanaian girl knows the heights to which she can ascend,” he said, adding that Ghana looked forward to the appointment of a woman as Secretary General of the UN in the near future.
