Ghanaian President John Mahama on Thursday cautioned world leaders against normalising hostility toward migrants, warning that rising rhetoric of “hatred and cruelty” undermines global unity.
Speaking before the UN General Assembly in New York, Mahama said it was time to be honest about the growing anti-migrant stance in Western politics. “We cannot normalise cruelty. We cannot normalise hatred. We cannot normalise xenophobia and racism,” he declared.
Highlighting the success stories of African immigrants abroad, he stressed that migrants should not be painted as “invaders” or “criminals.” He also pointed to the disproportionate impact of climate change on African nations, noting that environmental degradation often forces people to leave their homes in search of survival. “When the desert encroaches on our villages and towns and they become unlivable, we are forced to flee,” Mahama said.
While he did not name any leader directly, his comments followed a fiery address by US President Donald Trump earlier in the week. Trump had criticized European nations for accepting migrants, pledged to expand deportations, and accused migrants of driving crime — a claim contradicted by US statistics, which show lower crime rates among immigrants compared to native-born citizens.
Despite his criticism of anti-migrant rhetoric, Mahama has cooperated with Washington by accepting non-Ghanaians deported from the United States, underscoring the complexities of migration diplomacy.
