Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean
Speech on the Occasion of a Dinner at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre
Accra, Ghana, Wednesday, November 29, 2006
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At the ceremony where he received his Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, Kofi Annan stated that the UN needed a deeper awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of race or religion.
His words on that day continue to light a path forward for all humanity.
The Secretary-General said : “From this vision of the role of the United Nations in the next century flow three key priorities for the future: eradicating poverty, preventing conflict, and promoting democracy.”
The work you do here at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre is crucial to that larger effort.
Of course, being based in Ghana, you have an excellent foundation to build on.
Ghana is a stable, democratic nation. The country has more than four decades of experience serving in peacekeeping operations, stretching back to the mission to Congo in the early 1960s, where Canadians also served.
Since then, thousands of men and women from the Ghanaian Armed Forces and its police have served in numerous operations, including those in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Lebanon.
As of October of this year, Ghana had some 2,674 military personnel and civilian police serving in various UN operations.
The subjects being taught in the Kofi Annan Training Centre will enable Ghana to do even more in the future, developing valuable expertise in a number of areas directly related to peacekeeping.
Canada’s Pearson Peacekeeping Centre is proud to be working with this centre in the pursuit of goals shared by both institutions.
In addition to providing financial support, the Pearson Centre has designed and delivered courses on UN logistics, negotiation, civilian policing, and other subjects.
This effort reflects Canada’s belief in the benefits of education, and our commitment to sharing those benefits with the people of Ghana.
In the words of Kofi Annan: “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.”
I couldn’t agree more. Whether here at the Training Centre that bears his name, or in schools in different parts of this country, Canadian women and men are helping Ghanaian children and others gain the education they deserve.
Now, I don’t want to make a long speech.
So in closing, allow me to say how impressed I am with what you are doing in this Centre, and the tremendous sense of hope you have given me for the future.
The Kofi Annan Centre is a unique joint effort of African, North American and European countries to build an instrument of peace, and tonight we are celebrating its success.
I thank you for your kind invitation to join you today, and I wish you continued success in the future, as you work to build a more peaceful world.
Thank you very much.
