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Tag: Matthew Rycroft

  • ‘We can’t forget the anguish of Boko Haram victims’ – UK

    ‘We can’t forget the anguish of Boko Haram victims’ – UK

    The United Kingdom has said that it was difficult to forget the stories of anguish that Boko Haram terrorists perpetrated against innocent people in the northeast.

    The Permanent Representative of UK to the UN, Amb. Matthew Rycroft, stated this at the Security Council briefing on ‘Peace and Security in Africa’ with focus on Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    Rycroft recalled the Council’s visit to the Lake Chad region in March, saying “I’m sure that none of us who are on that visit will forget the stories of anguish that we heard there”.

    “So many of them from mothers or daughters who had lost everything – their children, their families, their homes, their hope – all to Boko Haram. Sadly, it seems that these stories are still being told.

    “In spite of the efforts of the UN, and the AU and governments of the region, the suffering continues – with over two million people still displaced in the Lake Chad region; over 96 per cent of them because of the insurgency.”

    According to him, it was high time everything was done to break the cycle of violence being perpetrated by the Boko Haram terrorists in the country.

    “Put simply Mr President, we need to break the cycle. And by we, I mean all of us, including this Security Council, but responsibility must fall, first and foremost, to the governments affected,” Rycroft said.

    “It means governments holding to account those who have committed these crimes; showing that there can be really no impunity and no escape; that the rule of law applies to everyone.

    “And we need to help them in that effort. And that’s why the UK, together with our UN and NGO partners, are supporting the Nigerian government to re-establish basic social services to areas they have stabilised.”

    “It’s why we provide training to the Nigerian Armed Forces and to African Peacekeeping contingents on protecting civilians and on preventing sexual and gender based violence,” the UK envoy said.

    He said at the heart of addressing the huge humanitarian challenges caused by the Boko Haram crisis meant women’s equality in all aspects of politics, government and society.

    “It’s unacceptable that women continue to be so poorly represented in formal governance and peace processes when time after time studies show that women’s participation in these processes aids their ultimate success.

    “In Nigeria, for instance, women’s participation in the House of Representatives and Senate has fallen since 2011; it now stands at around five per cent,” he said.

    The UK envoy advocated for the full, active participation of women saying “women have spent too long enduring and surviving these crises; it’s long past time for them to play their fullest part in solving them”.

    “I’m looking forward to Amina Mohammed’s briefing on her visit to Nigeria and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two crucial countries, including for the Women, Peace and Security agenda which was the reason for her visit that she will be briefing us on.

    “And on Northeast Nigeria, I was very glad to co-lead the Council there as part of our  Lake Chad Basin visit back in March.

    “One of the things that we concluded that it was important not to have a one off visit but to have a series of sustained engagement, really getting under the surface of the interconnected problems there.

    “It’s not just climate change, it’s not just terrorism, it’s not just governance, it’s not just a famine, it’s everything interconnected with everything else,” Rycroft said.

  • Why Security Council adopted resolution on Boko Haram crisis – Britain

    The UK Permanent Representative to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, on Monday  explained  why the Security Council adopted   a resolution on the Boko Haram crisis in the Lake Chad Basin, saying it  was a landmark development.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Security Council had on Friday  adopted Resolution 2349 (2017)  to bring attention to the Boko Haram crisis.

    Rycroft said:  “This adoption marks the start of the next chapter of our work on the Lake Chad Basin. Seeing a crisis first hand is a good start but it isn’t enough on its own.

    “It isn’t enough just to bring attention to its situation. We will fail the people of the region if we do not respond to what we saw; if we don’t take tangible action to bring real relief, real respite to the suffering, the hunger, the instability.

    “Through this resolution, we have made clear what action needs to be taken.

    “First and foremost, we need the countries in the region, the international community and the UN urgently to scale up their response to the humanitarian crisis.

    “If we act now famine can be avoided. But that means quickly dispersing money pledged at Oslo – every single dollar of the 458 million dollars pledged by donors, every single dollar of the one billion dollars pledged from the Government of Nigeria.

    “It means supporting the regional governments to lead a comprehensive and effective response to the crisis, building on the leadership they have already shown.

    “It means all in the region, including ECOWAS and ECCAS, addressing the root causes of the crisis – addressing economic inequalities, countering violent extremism, empowering women.”

    “Boko Haram exploits the poverty in the northeast, it exploits the men who view women as no more than objects, wives and cooks  without the prospect of a future,’’ he added.

    The UK envoy emphasised that the ideology of Boko Haram was unacceptable.

    “We also must avoid a protracted crisis  by better bridging the divide between humanitarian and development programming,

    “If we are to bring a conclusion to this crisis, we must also commend and support the countries in the region on their efforts to combat Boko Haram, including through the Multi National Joint Task Force.

    “They must sustain their momentum to defeat Boko Haram and Daesh.

    “You can’t defeat terror or build peace if you are committing or condoning the abuse of civilians. We all must hold ourselves to a higher standard than that,” Rycroft said.

  • Boko Haram: There’s hope behind the gloom – UN Security Council

    Boko Haram: There’s hope behind the gloom – UN Security Council

    In spite of the gloom created by the seven years of Boko Haram insurgency, there is hope for the Lake Chad Basin region, the UN Security Council has said.

    The President of the Security Council for the month of March, Amb. Matthew Rycroft, made the remarks during a press briefing on the Council’s just-concluded mission to the region.

    Rycroft said the visit had afforded the 15-member body to appreciate the level of degradation caused by the Boko Haram terrorists in the region.

    “If I was talking to you about security in the Lake Chad Basin last Tuesday, I would have spoken about how 20,000 people have been killed and how 2.3 million are currently displaced.

    “What I couldn’t have told you was the stories, the lives behind these numbers; the human cost of the fragile security situation.

    “Last Friday, in Maroua, in northern Cameroon, I saw that cost in the eyes of a 15 year-old boy whose village was attacked by Boko Haram.

    “He hid for days. Most of his friends had already been killed. I saw that cost in the eyes of a woman crying with her baby in her arms.

    “I saw it in others who spoke of the murder of their husbands and sons, the kidnapping of their daughters, and the burning of their homes.

    “We heard from civil society how women were selling their bodies for sex just to eat.

    “All these people brought home the horrifying consequences of the chaos and insecurity wrought by Boko Haram,” he said.

    He said, however, that together, the Council’s 15 members brought some much needed focus to suffering that has been neglected for too long.

    “But amid the horror, we also heard of the bravery and commitment of the people of the region as they try to bring stability and security back to the Lake Chad Basin.

    “And in many ways it’s working; it’s undeniable that significant progress has been made in combating Boko Haram’s reign of terror. We heard chapters from a success story on its way to completion.

    “Stories from the Multi-National Joint Task Force of liberating 20,000 hostages and successfully winning back territory that will act as future homes for the people of the region,” he said.

    Rycroft explained that the Boko Haram threat is not over adding, security is not yet entrenched; it is fragile in too many places.

    “Force commanders and generals outlined continued attacks. Suicide bombings and IEDs are still far too common.

    “And Boko Haram’s tactics are getting more barbaric – mothers turned into suicide bombers with infants strapped to them in addition to their bombs.

    “Boko Haram members are down, but they’re not out yet. And make no mistake, their cruelty knows no bounds. It was clear that international support remains vital for this fight.”

    He called for the provision of psycho-social services for Boko Haram defectors to enable reintegration without stigmatization.

    Rycroft commended the bravery and resilience of the escaped Chibok schoolgirls and thousands of other women freed from Boko Haram savagery.

    “I met three inspirational young women from Chibok who were attending an International Women’s Day event at the UN.

    “Far from being victims, far from being survivors, they are now campaigners for education for women and girls in poverty.

    “Despite everything they had endured, despite being caught up in the hell unleashed by Boko Haram, they are determined to look to the future.

    “They showed what lies ahead. They showed a future possible when the fighting ends, when the guns fall silent, when security stops being a word and starts becoming a reality.

    “To achieve this reality, it’s clear that there can be no military solution: only a comprehensive approach will bring stability and peace.

    “And so let me reiterate that the UK will stand side by side with the region and affected people in this effort,” the UK Permanent Representative to the UN, said.

     

  • Development will end Boko Haram crisis- UN Security Council

    The UN Security Council says that the only solution to the Boko Haram terrorism in the North East Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin is the economic development of the region.

    Matthew Rycroft, the leader of a UN Security Council delegation, said  this while speaking with newsmen shortly after a visit to Maiduguri.

    “We are convinced that the long term solutions is not military, it is not even humanitarian, it is development.

    “It has to do with thinking about long term investments, in job creation, in education among others,” Rycroft, who is  also the UK Permanent Representative to the UN and the Security Council’s President for the month of March, said.

    He added:” It is thinking about the protection of civilians, thinking about protection of human rights, of women and girls rights in particular.

    “All of us have to come together and we stand with the governor of Borno, the government of Nigeria in tackling all of these problems in the Lake Chad Basin region”.

    Rycroft explained that the visit was aimed at getting first hand information on the crisis.

    “We came here because we are very worried about the crisis which is affecting the North East Nigeria which is the crisis of terrorism caused by Boko Haram.

    “We are also here because of the humanitarian crisis which is being exacerbated by the terrorists,” he said.

    Rycroft said that the team had been able get sufficient information from some victims of the crisis.

    “We have had meetings with displaced persons in one of the IDP camps interacting with women and men who had been victims of Boko Haram.

    “They are now victims of humanitarian crisis, the number is shocking in terms of Displaced Persons, half a million children are malnourished,” he said.

    Rycroft said that the UN Security Council was determined to stepped up assistance to the victims.

    “We are determined that the international Community, the donor nations and the UN coordinating units stepped up response before it is too late,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 14-man UN Security Council delegation visited the Theater Commander Operation Lafiya Dole as part of the visit.