President John Dramani Mahama has warned against the weaponisation of national, ethnic and cultural identity, saying a sense of belonging can become a source of conflict when used to exclude people considered different.

In his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly, President Mahama reflected on his own multicultural background, saying his ability to speak several Ghanaian and West African languages had shaped his understanding of identity and belonging.

“I belong to all these peoples because their tongues have become my tongue,” he said.

President Mahama acknowledged that belonging provides people with dignity, identity and a connection to a wider human story, but cautioned that political actors can manipulate those sentiments to fuel discrimination, displacement and conflict.

“When weaponised by political expediency, it transforms into nativism, chauvinism, xenophobia and the dangerous prejudices extended to those who are deemed different,” he said.

He argued that the founding principle of the United Nations must remain the recognition of every person as part of one human family, regardless of race, religion, language, skin colour or nationality.

“No race is superior. No nation is inferior. No child’s life is worth less because of the language they speak, the faith they profess, the colour of their skin, or the land of their birth,” President Mahama said.

He said that principle should guide the international community’s response to refugees, migrants, victims of conflict and marginalised communities around the world.