By Christiana Afua Nyarko, GNA
Accra, Aug. 20, GNA – The late Kofi Annan’s tenure as Secretary-General of the United Nations gave Ghana unprecedented visibility on the global stage and demonstrated that an African diplomat could rise to the highest level of international leadership, influencing debates on peace, security and development.
These were the words of Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, a Security and International Relations expert, as Ghana marked eight years since the passing of the former UN chief.
While describing Annan’s legacy as remarkable, Dr Antwi-Danso noted that it was also complex, encompassing significant diplomatic achievements alongside difficult moments, particularly the international community’s failure to prevent the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
“Kofi Annan is a giant. His rise to the pinnacle of international politics as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN was a source of immense pride, not only for himself but for Ghana,” he told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview.
Dr Antwi-Danso said Annan’s international stature became closely linked with Ghana’s identity, giving the country a level of recognition few individuals had ever brought to their nations.
He recalled that Annan’s name was frequently mentioned alongside that of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, reinforcing Ghana’s global reputation and strengthening national pride.
Annan served as the UN’s seventh Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006, becoming the first person to rise through the organisation’s ranks to lead it. Before assuming the role, he served as Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.
His tenure was marked by efforts to reform the UN, strengthen human rights and the rule of law, advance development initiatives and improve peacekeeping operations.
He also helped to place the Millennium Development Goals at the centre of the global development agenda.
In recognition of those efforts, Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for their work towards a better organised and more peaceful world.
Dr Antwi-Danso said the significance of those achievements extended far beyond Annan’s personal success. He highlighted Annan’s contribution to peacekeeping, noting that it complemented Ghana’s longstanding role as a major contributor to UN peace operations.
The United Nations say Ghanaian personnel have participated in peacekeeping missions since the early 1970s, and the country remains among the leading contributors to UN peace operations.
One of Annan’s most enduring legacies, Dr Antwi-Danso said, was the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra.
Established by Ghana’s Ministry of Defence in 1998 and commissioned in 2004, the Centre was created to build on Ghana’s peacekeeping experience and share that expertise across West Africa and beyond.
Today, it is recognised as one of ECOWAS’s Centres of Excellence for peacekeeping training.
Describing the institution as a centre of excellence, Dr Antwi-Danso said it had benefited Ghana, West Africa and the wider international community through training and research in peace support operations, conflict management and peace and security studies.
“It’s an institution of high excellence, and countries from across the world want to send their people there for training,” he said.
Beyond his achievements at the UN, Dr Antwi-Danso cited Annan’s successful mediation of Kenya’s post-election crisis in 2008 as evidence of his enduring diplomatic influence.
As head of the African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities, Annan helped broker a power-sharing agreement on February 28, 2008, ending an escalating political crisis and paving the way for a coalition government and longer-term reforms.
Dr Antwi-Danso said the intervention reflected Annan’s belief in dialogue, compromise and preventive diplomacy as the most effective means of resolving political disputes.
However, he said Annan’s record could not be examined without acknowledging the controversy surrounding the Rwandan genocide, during which more than 800,000 people were killed.
Dr Antwi-Danso rejected attempts to assign sole responsibility for the tragedy to Annan, arguing that the genocide reflected a broader failure of the UN system.
His assessment aligns with the findings of the UN’s Independent Inquiry into the actions of the international community during the genocide, which concluded that the failure stemmed from inadequate resources, weak political commitment and a lack of political will among member states, alongside operational shortcomings.
“People pointing fingers at Kofi Annan are wrong. It was a systemic failure. It was not Kofi Annan’s failure. It was the system,” Dr Antwi-Danso said.
He acknowledged, however, that the episode remained a painful chapter, particularly for Rwandans who felt abandoned by the international community at a time of immense suffering.
Dr Antwi-Danso also pointed to Annan’s opposition to the 2003 Iraq invasion as another example of his commitment to multilateralism and international law.
In remarks made at the outbreak of the war, Annan argued that Iraqi disarmament could have been achieved through peaceful means or, if necessary, through collective action approved by the United Nations, thereby securing broader legitimacy and international support.
The expert said the episode highlighted the limitations of diplomacy when major powers choose to act outside multilateral frameworks.
According to Dr Antwi-Danso, Annan’s broader diplomatic philosophy was rooted in dialogue, negotiation and the recognition that nations share common interests. He noted that Annan’s 2005 report, In Larger Freedom, linked development, security, human rights and the rule of law, stressing that lasting progress requires collective action.
He said those principles remain highly relevant to Africa as the continent grapples with coups, democratic backsliding, terrorism and armed conflicts.
“If Kofi Annan were alive today, he would be deeply concerned about the erosion of dialogue and preventive diplomacy,” Dr Antwi-Danso said.
“Kofi Annan would be turning in his grave because his values and approach stand in sharp contrast to many of the conflicts and political instability currently confronting parts of Africa.”
Dr Antwi-Danso argued that the greatest aspect of Annan’s legacy now at risk is peace itself. He said the former UN chief firmly believed in preventing conflicts before they erupted rather than pursuing peace only after devastation had occurred.
“We are in danger of losing that because tomorrow is not guaranteed,” he said.
He urged Ghana and the wider international community to preserve Annan’s commitment to dialogue, peaceful conflict resolution, multilateralism and preventive diplomacy rather than merely celebrating his achievements.
Annan died on August 18, 2018, at the age of 80. The current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, described him as a “guiding force for good” who created space for dialogue and helped chart a path toward a better world.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe