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Tag: UN

  • We are interested in credible polls -UN

    THE United Nations and the international community are committed to ensuring that the 2019 general elections in Nigeria are credible, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary- General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, has said. Chambas spoke shortly after a meeting with Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike at the State House in Port Harcourt, the state capital yesterday.

    The UN official further said that the international community also craves peaceful polls in the country, stating that the international body is working closely with all levels of government in the country to ensure that the task is achieved. He said: “The United Nations and the international community are very interested in the 2019 elections.

    Read also: 2019: Our campaign will focus on candidates’ integrity —Oshiomhole

    We want to see how the elections can be peaceful. “We are working closely with the Federal Government, with the states and national institutions which are charged with the conduct of elections to ensure a credible process.” He stated that the purpose of the engagements was to ensure that all stakeholders contribute to the development of a credible electoral process.

    “At the end of the day, we will be able to have credible and peaceful elections, which will enable Nigeria to play her role as a leader in West Africa and Africa. “We discussed ways that we can put some confidence building measures to allow politicians, civil society organisations and eminent personalities play a role in minimizing conflicts that could occur before, during and after the elections,” he said.

    The diplomat added that they will ensure that INEC works in ways that will enhance confidence of politicians in the process. Speaking further, Chambas expressed gratitude to Wike for providing befitting office complex for the state secretariat of the international agencies in the state. In his reaction, Wike called for the discouragement of the present winner takes all attitude of Nigerian politicians, saying that it contributes to the desperation and violence at elections. According to him, “The current winner takes all attitude in Nigerian politics should be discouraged in the interest of the nation.” The governor agreed that stakeholder engagements are vital to credible polls. He, however, said that INEC should allow the votes of the people to count.

  • UNICEF convenes global meeting on open defecation

     The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is meeting with key players in sanitation, among other stakeholders in West Africa,
    to strengthen local sanitation markets, its Supply Director, Etleva Kadilli, said on Wednesday in a statement in Abuja.

    Kadilli stated that the meeting was part of efforts to support 250 million people globally to abandon open defecation.

    According to her, the meeting, which is ongoing in Abuja, is aimed at enabling 60 million people to gain access to at least basic
    sanitation service by 2021.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting, which opened on Nov. 13, will end on Nov. 15.

    The director stated that “the UNICEF meeting with industry, financial institutions, governments and development partners is to
    discuss how to shape healthy sanitation markets in the West and Central Africa Region.

    “One of the key approaches in the UNICEF global strategy for water, sanitation and hygiene is to build sustainable markets
    for goods and services where supply meets demand.

    “There is need for governments and development partners to work with global and local businesses to ensure that appropriate
    solutions are available and affordable to those who need them.”

    Kadilli, who noted that 2.4 billion people worldwide do not use improved sanitation, stressed the need for consultation as
    important signals were urgently needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) sets targets.

    Read Also:69 percent out-of-school children in north – UNICEF

    She assured that UNICEF had been key custodian of SDG 6.2 and would work to achieve equitable access to sanitation and
    hygiene for all and to end open defecation by 2030.

    She added that “open defecation is a life-threatening practice as contact with human waste can lead to diseases such as
    cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, polio and diarrhea. Inadequate or non-existent sanitation causes tremendous harm.

    “Everyday, 700 children under five years die from diarrhea related diseases.”

    Ms Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, also noted that the level of open defecation in
    West and Central Africa accounted for 14 per cent of global open defecation.

    Poirier specifically noted that in Nigeria alone, 46.5 million people practice open defecation, making it the second highest
    ranked country worldwide.

    She added that “between 2008 and 2017, the creation of sanitation demand through ‘Community Approaches for Total Sanitation
    in West and Central Africa’ led to an increase of almost 25 million people living in open defecation-free communities.

    “Despite this recent success, the current rate of progress is insufficient to eliminate open defecation by 2030.

    “While UNICEF will continue to rely on proven strategies, new accelerators are needed to support local markets to deliver
    sustainable sanitation solutions at scale.

    “Following the rise in demand for toilets, we will work with countries to enhance the engagement of the private sector to provide
    adequate and affordable sanitation products and services, including in isolated, often underserved rural areas.”

    She says UNICEF has a long history of influencing markets and driving product innovation that has increased children’s
    access to essential commodities.

  • UN angry over kidnap of students in Cameroon

    The United Nations is angry over the kidnap of students and staff of a secondary school in Bmenda, North-West of Cameroon and warned that there could be no justification for crimes against civilians, particularly minors.

    United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, condemned the Monday’s reported kidnap and called for their immediate release and return to their homes and families.

    No fewer than 79 students were reportedly abducted on Monday morning with their teacher, the principal and a driver.

    Read also: Cameroon Court hears calls for ‘irregular’ election to be annulled

    The abduction has prompted a massive search operation involving the Cameroonian army.

    One student who hid under a bed said that events unfolded quickly as the kidnappers threatened to shoot, rounding up the older boys and leaving the smaller ones behind.

    While no group has taken responsibility for the kidnappings, some journalists report that separatists complain that the Cameroon school system suppresses the English-speaking system inherited from the British.

    The spokesperson of the UN, Stéphane Dujarric, quoted Secretary-General that there was the need for a peaceful solution to the crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon through an inclusive dialogue process.

    According to him, the UN stands ready to assist in this regard. (NAN)

  • UN reviews Nigeria’s human rights record, 13 other countries

    UN highest human rights body, the Human Rights Council (HRC), will start reviewing the track records of Nigeria and 13 other countries on Monday.

    The process is called — Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and the ultimate goal is to improve human rights situation for people around the globe.

    The UPR review sessions take place for two weeks, three times a year, and 14 countries are reviewed in each session – a total of 42 per year.

    This time, the countries will be reviewed in this order: Saudi Arabia, Senegal, China, Nigeria, Mexico, Mauritius, Jordan, Malaysia, the Central African Republic, Monaco, Belize, Chad, Congo and Malta.

    Every four and a half years, the 193 UN Member States undergo interactive review of human rights situation in their countries on rotational basis.

    The idea is to give equal treatment to all the countries and allow them to exchange best practices.

    The Human Rights Council was created in 2006 as part of a general wave of reforms of the UN system, composed of 47 Member States, elected by the UN’s 193 Member States.

    However, any country can take part in the discussions held during a review; each state review is led by group of three countries (known as “troikas”), randomly chosen.

    Information and evidence are presented, and questions are asked by special independent experts (called ‘Special Rapporteurs’), and the UN’s Member States.

    Civil-society organisations can also submit questions and evidence through country representatives.

    The country under review is given a chance to explain the actions they have taken, or plan to take, to address the issues presented.

    Recommendations are officially made, and technical assistance provided where needed, with each country’s review lasting about three and a half hours.

    The UPR assesses the human rights obligations set out in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the human rights treaties ratified by the reviewed Member State, and International Humanitarian Law.

  • UN begins road safety advocacy to reduce crashes

    Dr Sydney Ibeanusi, Country Director, United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety and Traffic Injury Prevention in Nigeria has said that the UN has started the coordination of road safety advocacy to reduce road crashes.

    Ibeanusi said this in an interview on Friday with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

    He said that it was collaborating with the government and relevant authorities to ensure that traffic rules and regulations were obeyed.

    Ibeanusi said that road users must adhere by the rules guiding the road, stating that over 70 per cent of crashes are caused by road user’s behaviour.

    He said that road users can also be enforcers of the rule by reporting to relevant authorities anyone found breaking the law.

    According to him, the issue of road crashes is not only a national issue but a global one, not only caused by quality of road but also by recklessness of road users.

    Read Also: Man docked over theft of cell phone worth N20,000

    “As we stand, we think every Nigerian, as long as you are a road user, is a stakeholder in what we are doing. Part of our mandate is to carry out wide advocacy across the country.

    “To bring it to the consciousness of every Nigerian, at a tender age to make sure that road safety continues to move in the activity of the country.

    “There should be widespread advocacy to bring everybody onboard and as it stands the united nations are taking road safety issue as a fundamental human right. So its not just a Nigeria thing but a global thing.

    “Injury prevention, which is the mandate of the United Nations, was signed by various countries including Nigeria in 2010 and it was launched in the country in 2011; it has been running since then.

    “The United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety and Traffic Injury Prevention Nigeria is a multi-sectorial stakeholder’s forum involving all the key relevant stakeholders involved in road safety issues.”

  • Ethiopia’s parliament approves first female president

    Ethiopia’s parliament has approved senior diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s first female president, proceedings on state television showed, cementing another shift in the country’s political system from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

    Zewde is at present UN under-Secretary-General and special representative of its Secretary General to the African Union.

    She replaces Mulatu Wirtu, who tendered his resignation to parliament earlier on Wednesday.

    The president’s post is a ceremonial one in Ethiopia. The prime minister, who is the head of state, holds executive power.

    “In a historic move, the two Houses has elected Amb. Shalework Zewde as the next President of Ethiopia.

    “She is the first female head of state in modern Ethiopia,” Fitsum Arega, Abiy’s chief of staff, said on Twitter.

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    “In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalizes women as decision-makers in public life.”

    Recently, when the prime minister reshuffled his cabinet, he appointed 10 female ministers, making Ethiopia the third country in Africa, after Rwanda and Seychelles, to achieve gender parity in their cabinets.

    “When there is no peace in the country, mothers will be frustrated. Therefore, we need to work on peace for the sake of our mothers,” Zewde told parliament after her approval.

    Wirtu, who had held the office for five years, departed one year ahead of his term ending, saying he wanted to be part of change and reforms.

    Zewde became the fourth president since the ruling EPRDF coalition came to power.

    Since his appointment in April, Abiy has presided over a raft of reforms that have turned the region’s politics on its head, including the pardoning of dissidents long outlawed by the government.

    Earlier, the Ethiopian parliament’s two houses in a joint extraordinary session on Thursday approved the resignation request by Ethiopia’s President Mulatu Teshome.

    Teshome, who has been the East African country’s head of state since October 2013, on Wednesday submitted his letter of resignation as the Ethiopian parliament’s two houses are scheduled to consider his resignation.

  • Prince Harry highlights threat of climate change in Fiji

    Britain’s Prince Harry said on Wednesday that climate change was a daily threat for people of Fiji, and announced scholarships to study the problem.

    Prince Harry made this known as he toured with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on a visit to the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, on the frontline of global warming.

    Read Also:Royal Tour: Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Fiji

    The royal couple was, however, mobbed by crowds waving British and Fiji flags on the second day of their visit to the former British colony of some 300 islands, where villages moved to higher ground to seek safety from rising seas.

    Harry told students at University of the South Pacific in Fiji’s capital, Suva, that “one of the greatest challenges is undoubtedly climate change, and all of you living here are confronted with this threat in your daily lives.

    “You’re actually experiencing changing weather patterns, ferocious cyclones and rising sea levels, particularly in places such as Tuvalu and Kiribati, and you’ve been living with this for many years, way before the world actually started talking about it.”

    Fiji, which holds the presidency of COP23, the 23rd annual conference of the parties to a landmark UN climate agreement, led a push for the developed world to cut carbon emissions to limit rising temperatures and seas.

    Worldwide, sea levels have risen 26 cm (10 inches) since the late 19th century; UN data shows, prompting plans to move more than 40 villages to higher ground in Fiji.

    The issue is seen as a security problem in the region.

    Fiji was devastated in 2016 by Cyclone Winston, the strongest storm ever in the southern hemisphere, which killed 44 people and caused 1.4 billion dollars in damage, a third of Fiji’s gross domestic product.

    If temperature rises cannot be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, swathes of Arctic ice would melt, coral reefs would be all but wiped out and wild weather worsen, according to a UN report.

    Harry, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, announced four British-funded scholarships for studying the issue at universities in Fiji and the Caribbean, while Meghan stressed the importance of women’s education in her first speech of their tour.

    The couple, who are expecting a child, have proved very popular in Fiji, drawing cheering crowds at every engagement.

    A brief visit by Meghan to a market in Suva drew thousands of onlookers, with many of them waving flags, cheering and singing as she inspected stalls selling fruit, vegetables and handicrafts

  • Africa is ‘on the rise’, says UN chief

    Africa is “on the move and on the rise” with communities coming together to resolve their problems and offer mutual support, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said.

    Guterres, while addressing the inaugural Africa Dialogue Series at the UN Headquarters, in New York, urged collaboration among African countries for better future.

    The UN chief urged everyone with a stake in Africa’s success to seize the new opportunities and work together with people on the continent for the common good.

    He, however, said alongside the progress and resilience, on the back of stability and improved governance, parts of Africa remained fragile with challenges to overcome.

    The two-day series focused on the nexus between peace, security, human rights, humanitarian and development in the continent, and replaced Africa Week, which was launched in 2010.

    “The volatility of financial markets, the looming trade conflicts, and high levels of debt in some countries are causing concern over economies that may be vulnerable to shocks.

    “The widening impacts of climate change will create additional strains in the years ahead.

    “Inclusive, sustainable development in Africa is a goal unto itself. It is also a leading tool to prevent conflict and crises,” the UN chief added.

    On sustainable development, the Secretary-General noted the synergies between the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the AU’s Agenda 2063.

    On the UN-AU partnership on peace and security, Guterres cited examples from the Central African Republic and South Sudan where UN is working closely with African-led initiatives.

    “I will continue to advocate strongly for predictable, sustained and flexible financing for AU-led peace support operations authorised by the Security Council.

    “These operations are contributing to global security and deserve multilateral support,” he said.

    Briefing on the theme of the dialogue and expected outcomes, Bience Gawanas, the UN Special Adviser on Africa, said that the Dialogue “bears testimony of the desire to engage with the UN to realise a prosperous and peaceful Africa”.

    “Africa is changing and it is seeking to achieve peace, prosperity and socio-economic transformation,” Gawanas said.

    Ms María Espinosa, the President of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly, highlighted the central role of Africa in the multilateral system.

    Espinosa highlighted the importance of stronger and more collaborative efforts between the AU and the UN, saying such efforts will strengthen multilateralism.

    She also noted the revitalisation processes at the two institutions and expressed hope that the end result will allow them to “work together on behalf of all people”.

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    Similarly, Ms Inga King, the President of the Economic and Social Council, underlined the importance of synergies between UN’s 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 of the AU.

    “The Economic and Social Council has an important role to play in sustaining peace and promoting sustainable development in Africa,” she said.

    King noted the body’s collaboration with other entities of the UN system and beyond.

    Also speaking at the Dialogue, Sacha Llorenty, the Permanent Representative of Bolivia and the President of the Security Council for the month of October, spoke of the link between peace, security and development.

    He also said that partnerships were critical to overcome challenges in the continent, as illustrated by the G5 Sahel Joint Task Force and the UN-AU Mission in Darfur.

  • UNDP donates school to Borno resettled community

     The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has inaugurated a primary school at Ngwom resettled community in Mara Local Government Area of Borno.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was inaugurated by the UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock on Sunday at Ngwom community.

    The school was designed with 12 classrooms,  six offices, store and toilets.

    Steiner said the project was part of comprehensive programme designed to facilitate stabilisation, livelihoods support and recovery of conflict affected communities in the northeast.

    Read also: UNDP to support Niger communities in tree planting

    He said they were in the state to appraise the humanitarian situation, meet the communities with a view to promote stronger partnership to address the dire humanitarian needs in the region.

    NAN reports that the UN agency also disbursed N900,000 to Ngwom community under its Village Savings and Loan Associations, to facilitate execution of community development projects.

    According to statistics by the agency, some 300 houses, 288 market stalls, clinic, police post and water points were reconstructed at Ngwom under its Integrated community Stabilization programme.

    The UN agency also distributed farm inputs to 625 resettled households to enable them cultivate their farmlands during the 2017 and 2018 cropping season.

    Similarly, 120 households received support for irrigation activities; 120 for livestock production, while 128 households got small businesses support and 390 displaced persons to benefit from the Community-Based Safety Nets.

    Other services rendered by the agency include distribution of 340 lanterns to households and volunteers while 400 households encouraged to plant economic and non-economic trees.

  • UN pledges $2.1b as humanitarian aid to Lake Chad Basin

    The United Nations yesterday affirmed $2.1 billion will be donated to the northeastern region of Nigeria in humanitarian relief for crisis response.

    UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said this in a chat with reporters at the weekend reporters during presentation of the 2018 Report Launch in Abuja.

    Steiner explained $1bn was to be allocated for humanitarian and $1.1bn for development recovery oriented projects for the Lake Chad region.

    The human development report, he said, seeks to build on data and empirical evidence.

    “There is a challenge at the moment in the security dimension of the northeast region and that is a challenge that the government of Nigeria is trying to confront and the international community is also providing assistance for,” he stated.

    According to the report, the status of human development in Nigeria has not shown remarkable improvement in spite of the changes in the social and economic conditions in recent years.

    Economic growth has not been associated with poverty reduction and unemployment has not been abated.

    Also according to the report, there have been gains in the proportion of the population with access to improved water source, and also gains in the health sector of some antenatal care provision and declining HIV/AIDS prevalence.

    The report states: “Generally, the human security index for the country is low, therefore this is a dictation that Nigerians are not humanly secured.

    “The evolving posture here is that there is the likelihood that the low Human Development Index for Nigeria may be due to the low Human Security Index.”

    UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said the main message promised the international community was committed to helping Nigeria tackle its challenges in many areas.

    “Three years ago the insurgents Boko Haram controlled large parts of the northeast, they don’t to the same degree anymore.

    “Three years ago 8 million people were at the risk of famine and that’s not the case anymore. There is a food security problem but it affects a much smaller number of people.

    “Nearly two million people who have been displaced have been able to go home. So we see progress in being able to stabilize the humanitarian situation,” he said.