'War is a negation of the dignity'

Togo's Foreign Minister, Robert Dussey, spoke at the United Nations on Thursday on behalf of President Faure Gnassingbé.

His speech was delivered on the occasion of the 78th session of the General Assembly.

Dussey said that Africa is facing a high level of vulnerability, including: low level of development, major health crises, climate change, disruption of global food supply chains, armed conflicts, terrorism.

He warned that Africa is at risk of becoming a sanctuary for international terrorism and of remaining the weakest link in the global security system.

To address this, Togo has taken measures that include strengthening its military presence, but also economic and social development in regions affected by terrorist groups.

In a continental environment facing a plethora of challenges and characterized by the expansion of international terrorism and the emergence of new areas of tension, Africa is seeking its own path and Togo supports peace efforts in Africa, Dussey emphasized.

“We must invest more in peace than we invest in war. If the protagonists of the different conflicts in the world are listening to us, I would like to tell them that war is a negation of the dignity of the human person. Emmanuel Kant, this great philosopher of the Enlightenment, said: If the decision-makers of war could send their own children to the front, there would never be a war. Togo is a country of peace and Togo is opposed to war whatever its reasons,” the head of Togolese diplomacy hammered home.

Peace is in the DNA of the Togolese people. And Dussey recalled the mediations successfully carried out by his country in recent decades.

The minister reiterated the arguments that have been made many times before: Africa no longer wants external interference, Africa wants to remain itself and master of its own destiny.

The time when other entities claimed to speak on behalf of an Africa that they do not even listen to here at the United Nations and on the international stage is over.

Dussey's speech was well-received by many African leaders and diplomats. It was seen as a strong statement of Africa's determination to achieve peace and security on its own terms.