President John Dramani Mahama has urged world leaders to reject the politics of exclusion and embrace a broader understanding of belonging, warning that identity can become dangerous when it is weaponised against people considered different.

In his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, September 24, President Mahama said cultural and national identities were important sources of dignity and pride but could also fuel nativism, xenophobia, discrimination and conflict when manipulated for political purposes.

“Every human being belongs to the human family,” he said.

President Mahama argued that no race should be regarded as superior and no nation or individual should be treated as inferior because of language, faith, skin colour or place of birth.

He linked the principle to contemporary conflicts and humanitarian crises, saying refugees, migrants, children affected by war, indigenous communities, vulnerable people and descendants of enslaved Africans all have a place within the common human family.

“The freedom of any nation is insecure unless it is linked to the freedom of all humanity,” President Mahama said.

He called on the international community to use belonging as a basis for solidarity rather than exclusion, particularly at a time of geopolitical fragmentation and declining trust in multilateral institutions.

“Let this General Assembly recommit itself to a world where belonging is used not to erect walls, but to build bridges; not to exclude, but to unite; not to degrade humanity, but to exalt it,” he said.

President Mahama concluded by urging world leaders to combine humility with courage in confronting the challenges facing the international community.