Let’s unite to fight climate change impact— Hannah Tetteh

Madam Hannah Tetteh, United Nations Special Representative to the African Union, has entreated African leaders to unite and take effective steps towards ameliorating the impact of climate change through improving cross-border information-sharing and cooperation.

She asked the leaders to put together coherent policies at all levels to deal with the phenomena, which was a significant driver of conflicts.

Madam Tetteh said this in Accra at the opening of the second edition of the Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre at Teshie, near Accra.

The two-day Forum is under the theme: “Democracy and Governance in the Context of Complex Crises in West Africa.”

The theme coincides with the 20th anniversary of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance adopted by ECOWAS Heads of State in December 2001.

“The challenge has not been that we haven’t developed these structures yet. The challenge has been, we have not utilised them yet effectively, and that goes to issues of national sovereignty and the unwillingness of member states to have others, as it were, take an active interest and maybe recommend the things that need to be done in order to respond to a particular crisis. And if we recognise we are all in this together, then that certainly has to change,” she said.

Madam Tetteh while commending Egypt for putting itself up to host the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27), urged leaders and technocrats to use the opportunity to creatively think of inclusive governance issues with a multiple effect on the continent.

On ensuring peace and security, she called on leaders on the continent to develop homegrown solutions to address the peculiar challenges to enable democracy, and respect for fundamental human rights work.

Madam Tetteh asked them to domesticate and comply with the tenets of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), which includes the promotion and adherence, by each State Party, to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights.

Others are the adherence to the principle of the rule of law premised on the respect for, and the supremacy of, the Constitution and constitutional order in the political arrangements of the State Parties.

ACGED also required signatories’ countries to promote the holding of regular free and fair elections to institutionalise legitimate authority of representative government as well as democratic change of governments.

She said complying with the principles of ACDEG would strengthen government institutions and empower them to work effectively to avoid a situation where citizens questioned the acts of institutions.