The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UN council

  • Boko Haram: France to seek UN support for Africa force

    France will support a bid by the African Union to win the backing of the United Nations Security Council for its five-nation force fighting the Boko Haram sect, French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said on Sunday.

    Fabius spoke on a tour of Chad, Cameroon and Niger, countries that have launched operations against the militants who have killed thousands in a six-year war for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

    “France’s support for the integrated African reaction force is total. France will support a request of the African Union and other concerned countries for a resolution to be voted by the Security Council,” Reuters quoted Fabius as saying in the Niger capital, Niamey.

    The AU authorized the force combining Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin last month at a summit in Ethiopia. A Security Council resolution could give it a UN mandate, senior African officials said.

    The force was set up in part because of a perception that Nigeria was failing to defeat the militants, who have launched a string of cross border attacks in the Lake Chad area in recent weeks, as well as killing hundreds in Nigeria.

    “It is indispensable that Nigeria engages fully in the struggle against Boko Haram. Clearly, the last few actions of the Nigerian government are encouraging,” Fabius told a news conference.

    Nigerian forces backed by air strikes seized the northeastern border town of Baga from Boko Haram on Saturday, the military said.

    Baga is at Nigeria’s border with Chad, Niger and Cameroon and was the headquarters of a multinational force comprising troops from all four countries. Its recapture was an important victory, one of several in the past two weeks.

  • UN Council adopts Nigeria’s resolution on security sector reform

    The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted first resolution on Security Sector Reform (SSR), reaffirming the central role of SSR in conflict prevention, peace building and development.

    The Nigeria-sponsored Resolution 2151 was introduced during its month-long presidency of the Security Council and co-sponsored by many countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, France and Luxembourg.
    It was adopted on Monday in New York after a day-long debate chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Aminu Wali.
    The resolution reaffirmed the importance of such reform in stabilising countries recovering from conflict and resolved to prioritise reform aspects in both peacekeeping and special political mission mandates.
    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 15-member council reiterated the centrality of national ownership for security sector reform processes, recognising the need to consider host country perspectives in the formulation of peacekeeping and special political mandates.
    It encouraged states to take the lead in defining an inclusive national vision on security sector reform, informed by the needs of their populations.

     

  • Nigeria assumes UN Security Council membership

    Nigeria on Thursday formally assumed the membership of the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term (2014-2015), making it the fifth time the nation had been elected into the council.

    The UN Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the nation’s term for the non-permanent seat of the council began on January 1, but due to the New Year holiday, the council could not sit.

    Nigeria was on October 16, 2013 elected into the world body with 186 votes out of 193.

    UN Council has five permanent members comprising China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as 10 other non-permanent members which are elected for two years by the 193 members of the UN General Assembly.

    Earlier, following the admission of Nigeria into the council, Prof. Joy Ogwu, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, had assured that Nigeria would promote preventive diplomacy for peace as a fulcrum of its agenda.

    The permanent representative also noted that Nigeria was driven by a deep seated aspiration to deal with issues of peace, security and development not only in Africa but the rest of the world.

    “So to this effect, we will work assiduously with all members of the Security Council to represent all other member states and to fulfill the renewed mandate that we have received today,’’ Ogwu said.

    The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, had assured the international community that Nigeria would continue to work in the area of preventive diplomacy.

    Onwuliri also said that Nigeria would focus on mediation and prevention of conflict situations in Africa.

     

     

  • How to get UN council permanent seat- Senate

    How to get UN council permanent seat- Senate

    The Federal Government should seize the opportunity of Nigeria’s membership of the United Nations Security Council to pave the way for the country to become a permanent member of Council, the Senate said on Thursday.

    The upper chamber also said that the country should mobilize resources as well as assemble well meaning Nigerians to work towards the realization of the country’s aspiration to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

    The lawmakers stated this as it unanimously resolved to congratulate the country for its election to the Council.

    Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, who brought a motion on the election of Nigeria to the UN Security Council, noted that on Thursday, October 17, 2013, the UN General Assembly elected Nigeria to serve as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning from January 1, 2014.

    Ndoma-Egba noted that the election was the country’s fifth time since it gained independence in 1960.

    The Cross River Central Senator observed that the election was the second time Nigeria will be elected to the Council under President Goodluck Jonathan, the first being in 2010-2011.

    He noted that with the election, Nigeria has once again been placed at the centre stage of global politics.

    He prayed the Senate to resolve to congratulate President Jonathan, the government and people of Nigeria on the landmark achievement.

    The prayer was unanimously adopted.

    Senate President, David Mark, in his contribution noted that the fact that Nigeria had been elected into the Council consecutively is an indication of the country’s recognition.

    He noted that the important thing is that “whoever is our representative in the Council must be alert, up and doing and up to the task.”

    Mark added, “Collectively, we have to put our heads together and put our resources together to prove to Africa and indeed the world that we deserve the position of permanent membership of the Security Council.”