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Tag: UN

  • Clean-up delay: UN begs Ogoni to be patient

    Clean-up delay: UN begs Ogoni to be patient

    Six years after the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoniland, the United Nations has appealed to the people to exercise patience with the Federal Government over the delay in the commencement of the implementation process.

    The team of UN made the plea yesterday at a contaminated site in Kwawa community, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, during a familiarisation visit.

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo last year inaugurated committees that would facilitate the implementation.

    The Resident Coordinator United Nations in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallou, who led the team, stated that the remediation process involved technical approaches that needed a lot of time to be achieved appropriately.

    Kallou, who disclosed that it was his first visit to Niger Delta, noted that he was in the area to have firsthand information on the devastation and the level of work done.

    He noted that work was on going in the implementation process and urged the people of the area to the give the Federal Government a chance to be able to deliver a better result.

    Kallou said: “I am here today on a familiarsation visit on Ogoniland. I am here to have a better understanding on the impact of the oil spill and the progress that has been made in the implementation of the UNEP assessment of the devastation in the area.”

    “There are two conclusions I want to draw in my visit. This is a very technical investment; it is not a rural type of investment where you are going to see houses built within a short period of time. My appeal is patience, to ensure that the required technical needs are met and to ensure that at the end of the cleanup it is properly done.”

    “The beneficiary communities or the affected areas are looking up to what are the critical outputs of this investment, but the project is on. It needs to be given time to ensure that the technical aspect of the work is done properly.

    “We need time to allow the experts on the ground to do the critical analysis that are required before an investment is done. My advice to the project coordinator to look at a diversified approach with a rural development focus within the project itself that can be delivered in a short term.”

    The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, the body in charge of the remediation process, said it had commenced fully the training of graduates who would work to achieve the project.

    The Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Malvin Dekil, said over 12 people from different environmental related courses were been trained in different skills of remediation.

    He noted that there would be reassessment of impacted sites during the implementation proper as to capture the level of impact on the ground before a remediation plan is sketch for the area.

    He said: “We will take every site and capture the current contamination profile before we design a remediation plan for that area. We a will address that technically.”

     

    Wike appeals for urgent action

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has called on the leadership of the United Nations (UN) to prevail on the Federal Government to implement the clean-up of Ogoni-land, which was flagged off last year.

      Speaking at the Government House, Port Harcourt yeesterday when he granted audience to the United Nations Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Edward Kallon, the governor regretted that nothing has so far been done on the Ogoni clean-up.

      He said large scale environmental pollution in different parts of the state leads to environmental degradation, which negatively affects the sources of livelihood of the people.

      He said the clean-up of Ogoni land should not be politicised, as it dwells directly on the development of the area.

      The governor said: “Yesterday in the Senate, somebody said that the Federal Government has not done anything as far as Ogoni clean up is concerned. When we were saying it, they said we were playing politics.  But now, it has dawned on them that nothing is being done.  So, we urge you to intervene.

      “Part of the problem we are having today is because of the lack of attention by the Federal Government when it has to do with Rivers State.  We will provide you with Helicopter to see what we are talking about.  Don’t only read it on papers. You will really pity us. “

      Speaking further, Governor Wike said: “The Federal Government has taken our oil and our environment has been degraded.  Nothing seems to be done.

      “We urge you on your own part as the United Nations to impress on the Federal Government that this clean up is very serious.  Let it not be a political issue. We should not play politics with the lives of the people.”

  • UN human rights office clarifies error on Nigeria

    UN human rights office clarifies error on Nigeria

    A spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday explained why a reference to Nigeria in the High Commissioner’s keynote speech to the Human Rights Council was deleted shortly after it was delivered in Geneva on Tuesday.

    “Regrettably, because of a technical error with our databases, the reference to Nigeria in the original speech stated incorrectly that one visit by Special Procedures was accepted last year, and that the last previous visit before that was in 2007,” said the High Commissioner’s Spokesperson Rupert Colville.

    “In fact, four mandate holders visited Nigeria last year, in two separate visits, and another visit had occurred two years earlier. We corrected the error as soon as it was brought to our attention, and a new version of the speech, without the incorrect reference to Nigeria, was posted on our website.”

    In January 2016, there was a joint visit by three Special Rapporteurs (on the right to health; on contemporary forms of slavery; and on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution). This was followed in August 2016 by a separate visit by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons.

    The February 2104 visit was by the Independent Expert on minority issues. The term ‘Special Procedures’ is applied to a category of independent UN human rights experts, numbering 57 in total.  Most of them are Special Rapporteurs, but they also include some Working Groups and Independent Experts.

  • Nigeria’s envoy pays condolence visit to Osotimehin’s family

    Nigeria’s envoy pays condolence visit to Osotimehin’s family

    Prof. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, Nigeria’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN, paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Executive Director of UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin.

    The Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Muhammad-Bande was received by Dr Babajide Osotimehin, the deceased son, on behalf of the family on Monday evening.

    Nigeria’s envoy expressed the condolences of the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN, to the family.

    He described the late Osotimehin as an accomplished and distinguished professional who made Nigeria proud during the period he served at the UN.

    According to him, Osotimehin’s death is an irreparable loss not only to Nigeria but to the UN and the entire global community.

    The Nigerian ambassador later signed the Condolence Register opened at the residence of the late UNFPA chief.

    Muhammad-Bande was accompanied on the condolence visit by the Head of Chancery of the Permanent Mission, Dr Cyprian Heen.

    Osotimehin died in his home in New York Sunday night at the age of 68 years.

    A physician and public health expert, he became UNFPA’s fourth Executive Director on Jan. 1, 2011, with the rank of United Nations Under-Secretary-General.

    Before this appointment, the late UNFPA chief was Nigeria’s Minister of Health.

    Prior to that, he was Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), which coordinated HIV and AIDS work in Nigeria.

    Osotimehin qualified as a doctor from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1972, and went to the University of Birmingham, England, where he got a doctorate in medicine in 1979.

    He was appointed Professor at the University of Ibadan in 1980 and headed the Department of Clinical Pathology before being elected Provost of the College of Medicine in 1990.

    Osotimehin received the Nigerian national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger in December 2005.

    He led several councils, including the World Economic Forum.

    Osotimehin was married, had five children and several grandchildren.

  • AIDS pandemic far from over – Amina Mohammed

    AIDS pandemic far from over – Amina Mohammed

    Ms Amina Mohammed, Deputy UN Secretary-General, has warned that the AIDS pandemic was still far from over, saying more than 36.7 million people are living with HIV globally.

    Mohammed told delegations at the General Assembly’s annual review of the Secretary-General’s report, this year calling for a reinvigorated global response to HIV/AIDS, that tackling it required a life-cycle approach based on community-level solutions.

    According to her, global optimism has fuelled a major push to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, the highest ambition within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    “I am happy to report that, today, more babies than ever are being born free from HIV. Now we need to do a better job of reaching young women and adolescent girls.

    “This is particularly true for sub-Saharan Africa, where adolescent girls account for three out of four new HIV infections among 15 to 19-year-olds,” she said.

    “Achieving our aims on AIDS is interlinked and embedded within the broader 2030 Agenda. Both are grounded in equity, human rights and a promise to leave no one behind,” Mohammed added.

    In 2016, the UN political declaration on ending AIDS set the world on a fast-track to stamp out the epidemic by 2030.

    In the first phase, countries agreed to reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths to fewer than 500,000 by 2020 and to eliminate HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

    However, according to the report, with less than four years to go, progress on reducing new HIV infections among adults had stalled.

    The report added that financing for the global response had dried up and more importantly, women and girls continued to bear the brunt of the AIDS epidemic.

    “While more than 18 million are now on life-saving treatment, this is just half of those who need it, and there is no decline in the number of new infections each year.

    “People living with HIV who are on treatment can now expect the same life expectancy as someone who is not infected,” the UN chief said.

    Mohammed noted that key populations, including sex workers, people who inject drugs, transgender people, and men who have sex with men, remain at much higher risk of HIV infection.

    More than 10 million additional people living with HIV must access treatment by 2020, while most of them are unaware of their HIV status.

    On his part, President of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson, said that while major advancements have been made, the scale of shortcomings remained deeply concerning.

    “Some 1,800 young people a day are being newly infected with the virus, with young women at particular risk.

    “A blunt assessment would say that to date our achievements have been mixed,” Thomson said.

    He stressed that ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 required a comprehensive and inclusive approach that also targets education, information and services to people living with HIV and to those at risk.

    “Adequate funding remains critical to meet the objectives, he added, emphasizing the need to close the seven billion dollars funding gap for the global AIDS response.

  • Trump’s withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord a ‘great disappointment’ – UN

    Trump’s withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord a ‘great disappointment’ – UN

    The UN says the decision by the United States to withdraw from Paris Agreement on Climate Change is a disappointment for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote global security.

    Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told the media at the UN Headquarters in New York, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his country’s withdrawal from the Agreement.

    “The Paris Agreement was adopted by all nations in the world in 2015 because they recognise the immense harm that climate change is already causing and the enormous opportunity that climate action presents.

    “It offers a meaningful yet flexible framework for action by all countries,” Dujarric said.

    He added that the Secretary-General António Guterres remained confident that cities, states and businesses within the U.S., along with other countries, would continue to demonstrate vision and leadership.

    According to him, this can be done by working for the low-carbon and resilient economic growth that will create quality jobs and markets for 21st century prosperity.

    “It is crucial that the United States remain a leader on environmental issues,” the spokesman for the Secretary-General noted.

    Dujarric also said that the Secretary-General looked forward to engaging with the U.S. Government and all actors in the country and around the world to build the sustainable future on which the future generations depend.

    Trump had promised to make his decision known this week on the Paris Climate Agreement, which as at May, 195 members of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change had signed and 147 had ratified.

    In a nationwide broadcast, Trump announced: “to fulfil my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord but begin negotiations to re-enter our way into Paris Accord.

    “Or in really entirely new transaction or terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people and its tax payers.

    “So, we are getting out but we will start to negotiate and we would see if we could make a deal that is fair and if we can, that’s great and if we can’t, that’s fine.

    “As President, I can put no other consideration before the wellbeing of the American citizens. The Paris Climate Accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States.

    “For the exclusive benefits of other countries, leaving American workers, who I love, and tax payers to observe the cost in terms of job loss, low wages, shattered factories and vastly diminished economic production.

    “Thus, as of today, the United States would cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris Accord and the draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country.

    “This includes ending the implementation of the nationally determined contributions and very importantly, the Green Climate Fund, which is costing the United States a vast fortune.”

    According to him, compliant with the terms of the Paris Accord and the onerous energy restriction that is placed on the U.S. can cost America as much as 2.7 million job loss by 2025.

  • ‘UN food for Northeast not hijacked’

    ‘UN food for Northeast not hijacked’

    The United Nations World Food Programme yesterday denied reports in some online media that its food supply meant for Damboa in Borno State was “hijacked.”

    In a statement yesterday, the World Food Programme (WFP) described the report as “totally inaccurate.”

    The statement said: “All WFP food dispatched in Nigeria over the past week arrived safely at destinations without incident.

    “No WFP convoy was on the road to Damboa when the incident allegedly took place.

    “The WFP takes every precaution to ensure that all food is delivered safely and intact to hungry people who need it the most.

    “This includes strictly following and complying with all necessary security protocols for dispatching food convoys in high risk areas such as Damboa.

    “The WFP would of course condemn any diversion of humanitarian assistance.”

  • WHO admits slow response to Ebola

    WHO admits slow response to Ebola

    The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday admitted It responded “too slow” in its handling of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

    The Director-General of WHO, Dr Margaret Chan, at the 70th World Health Assembly in Geneva, also regretted that the virus had recently re-emerged near the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.

    The outbreak, which led to the death of hundreds of people in the West African countries, happened on Chan’s watch.

    The outgoing chief of the global health body, admitted fault and said: “I am personally accountable”.

    “WHO was too slow to recognize that the virus, during its first appearance in West Africa, would behave very differently than during past outbreaks in central Africa, where the virus was rare but familiar and containment measures were well-rehearsed,” Chan said.

    The outgoing WHO chief, however, said that the organization made “quick course corrections” to bring three outbreaks under control and helped create the first Ebola vaccine.

    The year’s World Health Assembly, which includes 194 countries, would discuss what has been learned from that outbreak, as well as from WHO’s handling of Zika and other diseases.

    Experts would also provide an update on how Angola responded to last year’s Yellow Fever outbreak, which exhausted the global vaccine stockpile several times.

    The current cholera epidemic in war-torn Yemen is also on the agenda; only days ago, WHO described it as “unprecedented”.

    Polio is still causing misery and paralysis in three countries where it is endemic: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

    Therefore, delegates would continue to push for the complete eradication of the wild poliovirus, for which there is no cure, only prevention.

    Refuting what she called “frequent criticism” that WHO has lost its relevance, Chan pointed to a recently issued report tracking how public health has evolved during her 10-year administration.

    The outgoing chief of the UN health agency, however, highlighted the relevance of WHO and offered its decision-making body parting advice that included protecting scientific evidence, pushing for innovation and thinking of people in every decision that is taken.

    As an example, she noted that while it took nearly a decade to lower the prices of antiretroviral treatments for HIV, thanks to teamwork and collaboration, the prices for new drugs to cure hepatitis C fell within two years.

    “This is the culture of evidence-based learning that improves efficiency, gives health efforts their remarkable resilience, and keeps us irrepressibly optimistic.

    “We falter sometimes, but we never give up,” Chan said.

    WHO’s relevance was “most dramatically demonstrated” during last month’s global partnership meeting on neglected tropical diseases, she said.

    According to her, participants celebrated a decade of “record-breaking progress” to eliminate the diseases.

    “The fact that, in 2015, nearly one billion people received free treatments that protect them from diseases that blind, maim, deform, and debilitate has little impact on the world’s geopolitical situation.

    “The people being protected are among the poorest in the world,” Chan said, adding that this was “a success story that the world was hungry to hear”.

    In addition to tackling these health threats and many more, the World Health Assembly would choose Chan’s successor.

    The three candidates hoping to step into her shoes after the vote on Tuesday afternoon are Tedros Ghebreyesus from Ethiopia, David Nabarro from the UK, and Sania Nishtar from Pakistan.

  • NEMA DG wants more collaboration on humanitarian crisis in N. East

    NEMA DG wants more collaboration on humanitarian crisis in N. East

    Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja, Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has called for more collaboration among stakeholders toward addressing humanitarian crisis in the North-East.

    Maihaja made the call during an interactive meeting with humanitarian stakeholders on Sunday in Maiduguri.

    “NEMA has the primary responsibility of responding to emergencies and coordinating humanitarian crisis in the country.

    “The North-East, especially Borno, is worst affected by the devastating Boko Haram insurgency; we need massive collaboration among stakeholders to tackle the resultant humanitarian crisis here,” he said.

    He promised that NEMA would continue to provide the support necessary to improve the living conditions of displaced persons, noting however, that more would be achieved if all stakeholders worked together.

    The NEMA boss said that the interactive session had helped the agency to get a feedback on its performances, especially the shortcomings.

    “We intend to meet with experts and examine our performances; we will also contact international organisations and appeal for increased support.

    “We shall also discuss the current realities with the Federal Government and crave for more support,” he said.

    Mr Peter Lundberg, UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator to Nigeria, had earlier told the NEMA boss that there were 75 partners working in the North-East, among them UN agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

  • Amnesty slams Australia as country begins UN human rights council bid

    Rights group Amnesty International slammed Australia on Thursday as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop prepared to launch a bid in New York for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.

    Amnesty International Australia said in a statement that Australia’s bid for the council “glosses over” the country’s issues with refugee, indigenous and asylum-seeker rights.

    Amnesty National Director, Claire Mallinson, said: “It’s not enough to talk the talk in New York, this government must must walk the walk at home.

    “Australia must demonstrate that it would be a principled, effective and accountable Human Rights Council member.”

    Bishop arrived at the UN in New York on Monday.

    Before leaving Australia, she said the country’s campaign for the council “reflects our commitment to working with other nations to find long-term practical solutions to complex human rights challenges.”

    Since 2016, three UN special rapporteurs who have visited Australia to report on racism, indigenous affairs and migrants, have denounced the government for not doing enough on those issues.

    Australia should take the actions recommended by UN experts, Tony Kenyon, president of Australian Lawyers Alliance, said in a statement released Wednesday.

    “As Australia seeks election as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, it must demonstrate its commitment to respecting human rights by implementing the recommendations of UN experts,” Kenyon said.

    The Australian government has been condemned by the UN, rights groups and even an Australian parliamentary inquiry for the detention and deplorable living conditions of refugees and asylum seekers in off-shore processing centres in the Pacific islands.

    Hundreds of detainees, sent to the camps by Australia after they tried to reach the country by boat, have been languishing on Manus Island and Nauru for more than three years.

    The government also has been criticised for not addressing the deteriorating conditions of Aboriginal and indigenous Australians, who are near the bottom across economic and social indicators.

    “The government continues its inherently abusive offshore detention regime, and oversees astronomical rates of indigenous incarceration,” Amnesty said.

    While making up only about three per cent of Australia’s 24 million people, Aboriginal and indigenous Australians make up 27 per cent of the prison population.

    The juvenile detention rate is 24 times higher for indigenous Australians than it is for the non-indigenous, and a report said the incarceration rate for indigenous women has risen nearly 250 per cent since 1991.

    Indigenous Australians also live 10 years shorter than the non-indigenous population, and indigenous infant mortality is twice as high when compared to the rest of the population.

    Employment rates are sliding backwards, with 48.4 per cent of Aborigines in a job in 2014 to 2015, compared to 72.6 per cent for others.

  • Nigeria 146th to endorse Paris Climate Agreement – UN

    The UN says Nigeria is the 146th country to endorse the Paris Climate Change agreement as the country presented its endorsement on Tuesday.

    Mr Santiago Villalpando, Chief of the Treaty Section of the UN, stated this at the presentation of the Climate Change Endorsement instrument by Nigeria’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande.

    The Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Paris climate change agreement entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016, with 197 parties.

    NAN also reports that by presenting its endorsement to the UN, Nigeria has deposited its instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the depository.

    Villalpando, at the historic event in New York, commended Nigeria for taking the bold decision and for its commitment to implementing the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

    Speaking with NAN after the presentation, Bande said Nigeria had always lived up to its commitment to the UN and other international obligations.

    “This presentation of the Climate Change Endorsement is our living up to our commitment.

    “We have ratified this agreement and President Muhammadu Buhari has signed it and we have deposited the instrument.

    “This is to underline our commitment to the agreement in Paris and this is important for the world.

    “Climate change is really important, there’s no doubt about it and we are glad that we have become the 146th member of the UN to ratify it.

    “So this is good for Nigeria,” the Permanent Representative said.

    He assured the UN and the international community that Nigeria would fulfill its own part of the agreement but called on other countries to live u to their own commitments.

    “We operate within the commitment of the agreement and we also expect others to do the same.

    “It is important and that is why it took a long time to agree to but we have passed it now. It is just to begin to act within the agreement

    “Nigeria has always shown commitment to international obligations, there’s no question about that. Even through our difficult period, we’re still a very reliable member of the international community,” Bande said.

    NAN reports that the presentation of Nigeria’s Climate Change Endorsement was witnessed by the Deputy Ambassador, Samson Itegboje, Mr Alex Ajayi Minister and Mrs Eunice Umezurike, First Secretary.

    Buhari had signed the Paris Agreement on Sept. 22, 2016 on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly, saying it “demonstrated Nigeria’s commitment to a global effort to reverse the effects of the negative trend”.

    By signing the agreement, Buhari committed Nigeria to reducing “Green House Gas Emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent and conditionally by 45 per cent” in line with Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions.

    The president had also signed the instrument of ratification of the agreement on March 28, making the country one of those that had ratified the agreement.