Sweden, France and Uruguay have proffered solutions
to the activities of the Boko Haram terrorists, which have ravaged parts of
Northeast Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
The three countries,
which are members of the UN Security Council, at a news briefing on their
recent trip to the Lake Chad Basin region, said on Thursday that there was more
to the insurgency.
“The roots of the
conflict run deeper than the Boko Haram insurgency. They include abject
poverty, climate change, and underdevelopment.
“Indeed, the situation
in the Lake Chad Basin region vividly demonstrates the links between security,
development and human rights,” the Ambassador of Sweden on the Security Council,
Olof Skoog, said.
Skoog explained that
more is needed to avoid a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions in the
area.
According to him, to
begin with, there must be rapid disbursement of the pledges made in Oslo. I am
happy to report that Sweden has already done so, and call upon others to
follow.
“Secondly, every effort
must be made to ensure this assistance is able to reach even the most remote
and hard to reach areas.
“It is clear that the
regional nature of the Boko Haram threat requires a regional response.
“Countries of the
region are working together, including through the Multinational Joint Task
Force, which is making progress and deserves further international support.
“We urge the rapid
deployment of the African Union civilian component. We need to ensure that the
response does not increase the suffering of an already brutalized population.
“In this regard, we
welcome the commitment expressed by all governments in the region to the
protection of civilians and human rights, in line with the 2016 Abuja Action
Statement.
“We encourage
governments to develop enhanced prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration
approaches to deal with persons associated with Boko Haram and to increase
coordination in this regard,” Skoog said.
” On Wednesday, we
celebrated international women’s day; the women we met in Maroua and Maiduguri,
despite the challenges they face on a daily basis, are survivors and leaders
not victims, he said.
He said faced with the
visiting Security Council, they clearly told us their stories – so we would
know their realities – and set out their needs – so we would know how to
respond.
“We must not let them
down. It is clear that women play a vital role in prevention, peace-building
and de-radicalization efforts.
“Improving education,
in particular for girls, and ending early-age marriage are central components
to development in the region. We were encouraged by the development of National
Actions Plans on Women, Peace and Security.
“Words must now be
translated into actions through the allocation of adequate resources and
meaningful implementation.
“Now that we have seen
the tragedy that is unfolding in the Lake Chad Basin, we must ensure that we
actively follow-up on our engagement and on the findings of this trip.
He called on the Council
to agree a Presidential Statement that sets out a roadmap for the future that,
among other actions, encourages leadership from the Secretary-General,
including by visiting the region and reporting back to the Council.
He also suggested
developing a comprehensive regional strategy to address the drivers of the
conflict, in line with existing plans and supported by development partners and
international financial institutions.
Skoog advocated efforts
to strengthen the links between humanitarian assistance and longer-term
development measures, focusing on early recovery and the provision of
alternative livelihoods, not least in local host communities.
Others are organization
of a Third Regional Security Summit in 2018 to focus on post-conflict
stabilization, early recovery and reconstruction; and enhanced regional
organizations’ capacity to jointly coordinate UN engagement in the region and
report on progress in this regard.
“We were encouraged to
see that coordination within the humanitarian community in Nigeria has improved
significantly in recent months, not least demonstrated by the scale up of the
humanitarian response.”
France’s Ambassador in
the Security Council, Francois Delattre and his Uruguayan counterpart, Elbio
Rosselli, who were on the trip to the region, regretted the humanitarian
disaster created by Boko Haram.
They said that children
must be treated as children, and hand over protocols that prioritize child
protection should be adopted, in dealing with arrested child soldiers recruited
by Boko Haram.
According to the
Council members, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger cited the shrinking of
Lake Chad, as a direct and major reason for the rise of Boko Haram.
They pointed out that
the crisis is exactly the type of situation that the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development and the Sustaining Peace agenda were created to respond
to.
According to them,
working within the framework of the 2030 Agenda, must see a coordinated and
better linked humanitarian, reconstruction and development response.
They also said that the
multidimensional crisis represented an example of where the UN system can take
an integrated approach.
The Security Council
members pledged to work with Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed as she
leads the reform of the UN Development System to better respond to such crises.
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