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5th International Conference of Chief Justices of the WorldAddress byHon’ble Madam Justice Sophia AkuffoJudge of the Supreme Court of GhanaI bring you greetings from the Ghanaian judiciary, and, in particular, from Justice G.K.Acquah, the Chief Justice of Ghana, who, unfortunately, has been unable to attend thisconference and has sent me in his stead. It is, indeed, a singular honour for me to addressthis gathering of eminent persons, and participate in the discussion of a theme that hascrucial ramifications for the survival of Planet Earth and all inhabitants thereof. I commendMr. Gandhi, the City Montessori School and all other, who have made this meetingpossible, for their untiring efforts to keep before the public eye the pressing need toevolve a legal regime that would assure the children of the world, and generations yetunborn, of a safer world built on peace and sustainable management of the Earth’sresources, ecology and environment.In the pursuit of sustainable human development, the formation of the United Nationswas expected to assure the achievement of world peace, through the institution of law and order by consensus. Hence, inthe Preamble to its Charter, to which practically all countries are adherents, the following objectives are stated-‘to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind,andto reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men andwomen and of nations large and small, andto establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of internationallaw can be maintained, andto promote social progress and better standards of life in large freedom…..’By the end of the 20th Century, however, the world had witnessed more than 250 conflicts of various kinds, the greaternumber of which occurred after World War II. These conflicts, according to some estimates, resulted in 75,000,000 –170,000,000 deaths (M. Cherif Bassiouni, ‘Combating Impunity for International crimes’. 71 U. COLO. L. REV. 409(2000)). The overall resultant casualties, injuries, damage to property and human dislocations are inestimable. Some ofthese conflicts are still on going and have increased in magnitude. Thus, it is estimated that over the last six years the conflictin the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in 4,000,000 deaths – a staggering average of 1,000 people per day!Whilst such conflicts sometimes involve state actors, many involve non-state actors. Many of these conflicts have had thetendency to spill over into neighboring countries and often threaten regional security. Despite the inconceivable sufferingand humanitarian violations that such conflicts have visited upon residents, yet in some cases, the perpetrators have managedto escape with impunity and rather, benefited from their activities for reasons of political expediency.On behalf of all children of the world, the students of City Montessori School have articulated their concern and heartfeltfear that:-‘… humankind might perish either in a nuclear holocaust or in an eco-catastrophe.’Hon’ble Madam Justice Sophia Akuffo,Judge of the Supreme Court of Ghanaaddressing the ConferenceThat our children should harbour such concerns and fears, is a serious indictment on all adults. It means that we have failedto put in place effective mechanisms and institutions that, from the present standpoint, give the children any assurance orjust expectation that they will survive into healthy adulthood and that there will even be a viable world environment tosustain them and their children’s children. And how can we blame them for harbouring such fears when on a daily, and evenhourly, basis they are assailed with images and sounds of war, social disruption, armed conflict, international terrorism,streaming lines of refugees in utter dejection? They read and listen to news of ethnic cleansing, human trafficking, international--48--