Ablakwa to Commonwealth: Condemn Attack on Ghana UN Troops, Back Free Trade, Reparations Call
Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has asked the Commonwealth of Nations to speak out against the recent attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon and support the removal of tariffs and trade barriers between member states to improve economic cooperation. At the 26th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in London, he talked about the attack on the Ghana Battalion headquarters, known as “Camp Obeng,” during fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah. He said it was an attack on the UN Charter and that three Ghanaian soldiers were critically injured. He called for a full investigation by the UN, and Ghana asked Secretary-General António Guterres to hold those responsible accountable. Mr. Ablakwa also called for the Commonwealth’s 56 member states to work together more on economic issues by getting rid of trade barriers and taking advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area. He also asked the bloc to support a resolution that John Dramani Mahama will present at the UN General Assembly on March 25 that calls for the transatlantic slave trade, slavery, colonialism, and apartheid to be recognized as crimes against humanity and for reparations and reparative justice. The African Union has already backed this initiative.
