*Ghana Opens 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on African Family Values and Sovereignty, Calls for Consensus and Practical Action*

 Parliamentarian, chiefs, faith leaders and delegates from across Africa gathered in Accra on Wednesday  June 3 2026 for the 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on African Family Values and Sovereignty, with Ghana urging the continent to move from declarations to concrete policies that protect families and deepen economic independence.

Delivering the opening address on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, Ghana Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah told delegates that the conference arrives at a “consequential moment” for Africa, as debates over identity, governance and development grow more urgent.

“There are certain places on our continent where history still speaks with unusual clarity. Ghana is one of those places,” 

He said. “It was from this land that the call for African freedom echoed across the continent. It was here that Kwame Nkrumah challenged Africa to believe in itself. Today, that same spirit brings us together.”

Speaking on the conference theme, “Consolidating Parliamentary Consensus: Advancing the African Charter on Family Values and Sovereignty,” he puts two ideas at the centre of discussions: the family as society’s foundation, and sovereignty as the right of nations to shape their own future.

Mr Debrah described the family as “the primary building block of our societies,” noting that across Africa. it continues to perform social and economic roles that states elsewhere have taken over. 

On sovereignty, he stressed that it must go beyond constitutional language. 

“A sovereign nation must be capable of feeding its people, educating its children, protecting its vulnerable, creating opportunities for its youth, and financing its own development priorities,” he said. “Across Africa, our citizens do not judge sovereignty by the speeches we make. They judge it by whether the lights stay on, whether jobs are available, whether schools educate, whether hospitals heal, and whether governments keep their promises.”

He credited Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and the Parliament of Uganda for “nurturing this important continental initiative,” adding that Ghana accepts the responsibility of hosting this fourth edition “with humility, responsibility, and a firm commitment to advancing the vision that has brought us together.”

His address anchored the conversation in Ghana’s experience of communal living, traditional authority and faith institutions. The National House of Chiefs, Queen Mothers, and community elders, he said, remain “indispensable roles in preserving social stability and transmitting values across generations.”

But preserving culture, he argued, requires policy, not just rhetoric.

 That includes supporting indigenous languages, investing in creative industries, empowering traditional institutions, and building family-centred policies to ease pressures from urbanisation and rising living costs.

Turning to Africa’s youth, the speaker said hopelessness, not technology or globalisation, poses the greatest threat to African values. 

“A young person who sees opportunity in their own country becomes a stakeholder in its future. A young person who sees no future becomes vulnerable to every form of disillusionment,” he stated.

 He called for quality education, dignified jobs and expanded economic opportunity as the “ultimate defence of African values.”

 Addressing international partners,   he said Africa welcomes dialogue and cooperation, but “engagement must never come at the expense of our right to define our own social and cultural norms.” 

“Just as we respect the sovereign choices of others, we expect our own choices to be respected. 

The strength of the global community lies not in uniformity, but in mutual respect among diverse peoples and cultures,” he added.

Closing the address, Mr Julius Debrah said history will judge leaders not by resolutions alone, but by “whether we had the courage to preserve what is valuable, the wisdom to reform what must change, and the confidence to define Africa’s future on Africa’s own terms.” 

He declared the 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on African Family Values and Sovereignty duly opened, ending with the Ghanaian greetings “Akwaaba. Obaake. Miawezor,” meaning “You are most welcome” in Akan, Ga and Ewe.

“The future of Africa will not be written for us. It will be written by us,” he told delegates. “May God bless our Nations. 

However, delegates are expected to spend the next days debating draft provisions of the proposed African Charter on Family Values and Sovereignty, with a focus on turning principles into legislation and programmes at the national level.

Report byPKB