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Tag: United Nations Information Centre

  • Preventing genocide, a shared responsibility – UN Secretary-General

    Preventing genocide, a shared responsibility – UN Secretary-General

    As the world marked the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda at the weekend, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has noted that preventing genocide and other monstrous crimes is a shared responsibility of all and a core duty of the United Nations.

    “The only way to truly honour the memory of those who were killed in Rwanda is to ensure that such events never occur again.” He said in a video message watched by 300 students and parents who had gathered in Abuja to mark the Day.

    [quote font_size=”18″ color=”#000000″ bgcolor=”#ddaf6a” bcolor=”#dd3333″ arrow=”yes”]The world must always be alert to the warning signs of genocide, and act quickly and early against the threat. History is filled with tragic chapters of hatred, inaction and indifference – a cycle that has led to violence, incarceration and death camps – Mr Guterres.[/quote]

    The Secretary-General, therefore, urged everyone to learn the lessons of Rwanda and work together to build a future of dignity, tolerance and human rights for all.

    Welcoming the audience to the educational briefing event organised by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos in collaboration with the Rwanda High Commission and Start-Rite School, Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja, the National Information Officer of UNIC, Mr Oluseyi Soremekun, explained that “We are observing the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda to educate on the lessons of the genocide in Rwanda in order to help prevent similar acts happening anywhere in the future.”

    The Drama by students of Start-Rite School Abuja.
    The Drama by students of Start-Rite School Abuja.

    He enjoined the students and other participants to see all tribes and religions as equal and complimentary of one another with none inferior to the other. ‘Tribes and tongues may differ’ Mr Soremekun continued, ‘but you must stand together in peace and unity.”

    The Second Counsellor, Rwanda High Commission, Mr Protogene Nsengumuremyi, in his keynote address drew attention to the UN Security Council Resolution 2150 which condemns without reservation, any denial of the genocide and calls upon States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide to consider doing so as a matter of high priority.

    The programme featured film screening, reading of survivors’ testimonies and a drama sketch performed by students of Start-Rite School, Abuja. The programme was attended by students from seven schools including the host school, Start-Rite.

    April 7 every year is the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda.

  • Maintaining the momentum: Building on year one of the SDGs

    Maintaining the momentum: Building on year one of the SDGs

    One year ago, leaders of 193 countries came together to commit to ending poverty, combatting climate change, and fighting injustice. They agreed a plan for the future of the world and its people. The plan—the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, offers a better future for billions of people around the world and for our planet as a whole.

    Turning its seventeen Sustainable Development Goals into reality before the 2030 target date will be one of the most ambitious undertakings the global community has ever taken. But I am confident that if people are at the centre of all actions, if the commitment of stakeholders is maintained and if the spirit of partnership prevails, there will be no shortage of success in the next fourteen years.

    I am optimistic is because of the nature of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Goals are underpinned by 4 powerful principles.  First–they are connected and indivisible, linking development, human rights, peace and security.  Second–they are universal. They apply to every person everywhere. Third–they are to be implemented through inclusive participation of all of society.  Fourth – as they are implemented no-one should be left behind. The SDGs have created a common purpose for the well-being of coming generations and for a planet that is fit for the future. This is why we have seen a fast, strong, and even urgent shift from all sectors toward more sustainable practices and policies.

    In this first year anniversary—“SDG Year 1” —more than 50 governments, and also numerous businesses, scientists and civil society organizations have stepped up their efforts to make the SDGs a central framework for their policies and actions, and have increased their focus and investment on data collection and analysis to guide decisions and leave no one behind.

    At the local level, hundreds of cities and municipalities are adopting their own plans to achieve the goals. And thousands of communities from different sectors of society have accelerated actions under the SDG banner.

    All these steps have built momentum to limiting climate change, advancing gender equality, mitigating natural disasters, addressing mass migration, and reducing inequality.

    This past July, twenty-two governments presented to the United Nations their SDG plans. They showed how they have made the SDGs a central framework for national development. They help ensure that actions are aligned, that programmes work in synergy and that finance is used as efficiently as possible. This means that development cooperation will be aligned with the SDGs.

    The momentum behind the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is also accelerating and so far governments of twenty-seven nations have ratified the agreement—including the world’s largest emitters of greenhouses gases, China and the United States.

    Other sectors are building momentum too. There has been a noticeable transformation in how businesses are done with greater focus on social, economic and environmental dimensions of development. And the UN has shifted to joint working in support of aligned policies from focusing on projects to convening stakeholders, and aligning efforts so that partners can work together in an efficient and effective manner.

    It is clear that enormous strides have been made.

    But much more has to be done to implement the SDG plan.  The SDGs lay out specific targets for all to solve the challenges our planet and people around the world are facing.

    How do we stay on this path and realize a sustainable future?

    That is where the most important stakeholder—the people—comes in. Public support and public pressure will be essential for transforming the SDGs from aspiration into reality. My aim is for 2 billion people around the world to be aware of the SDGs by the end of 2017 and for another million people to become activists—to be change-agents who press decision-makers and who hold them accountable until we have transformed our world and made it more sustainable.

    Children and youth have a particularly important role to play, as the face of social movements, the drivers of social change and the torchbearers of a more sustainable future for generations to come.

    The first anniversary of the adoption of the SDGs is an opportunity to celebrate all achievements made, to do more to make SDGs a reality and most importantly to thank the governments, businesses, civil society groups and young people around the world for all their efforts.

    If all the relevant stakeholders continue to work towards building a sustainable and resilient world, achieving the SDG targets in the next fourteen years and transforming the way we live really is a feasible objective.

    And let’s face it- we really do not have a plan B. There is no planet B.

    Dr. David Nabarro is Special Adviser to the Secretary General for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change.

  • Desist from inhuman treatment of widows – Aisha Buhari admonishes

    Desist from inhuman treatment of widows – Aisha Buhari admonishes

     

    Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari has called for cultural transformation and an end to wicked and inhuman widowhood rites imposed on Nigerian women, just as she said that widows must henceforth not be subjected to any form of discrimination or sexual abuse.

    Mrs. Buhari, who made the call in Lagos at the celebration of the Widow’s Day organized by the United Nations Information Centre and Hope for Life Foundation, lamented the life-threatening widowhood rituals to which Nigerian women were subjected, adding that such must stop in the overall interest of the advancement of the society.

    Mrs. Buhari, who was represented at the event by the Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, equally advised widows to seek economic empowerment to live above cheap temptations.

    Delivering the UN Secretary-General’s address, Director of United Nations Information Centre in Nigeria, Mr. Ronald Kayanja commended Lagos State Government for providing the model to follow regarding the welfare of women and children.

    He also urged everyone to support the widows by not stigmatizing against them.

    Mrs. Buhari, at another event, where she was represented by Mrs. Ambode, called on Muslims across the country not to abandon the spirit of Ramadan after the fasting period.

    Mrs Buhari, who said this while distributing Ramadan gifts to members of NASFAT, Ansar-ul-deen and the Hausa community in Lagos, noted that the call became imperative in view of the need to encourage the people to imbibe right virtues.

    She said Ramadan represents love, peace, forgiveness, peaceful co-existence and extending helping hand to the less privileged, hence the need for sustenance of such virtues.

    She said that the holy Prophet held those tenets in high esteem and lived his whole life around them, adding that the entire sacrifice of fasting would only achieve its purpose if Muslims continued with those principles beyond Ramadan.

    Mrs Buhari further said that Nigeria was in dire need of peaceful co-existence, unity and mutual love to strengthen the social bond and to help the country overcome all challenges.

    According to her: “The lessons of Ramadan should go beyond the fasting period. As Muslims, we must carry on the banner of love, peace, friendship and mutual co-existence beyond the season. It is only by doing so that we can strengthen the social bond between us and keep the country united to overcome all challenges.”

    Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Chief Missioner, NASFAT society of Nigeria, Shelk Abdullahi Akinbode thanked Mrs. Buhari for her kindness and for staying connected with people at the grassroots from far-away Aso Rock.

    He assured that the beneficiaries would use the fasting period to re-connect properly with Allah and carry the principles of the holy month beyond the period of fasting.

  • UN@70: Seven schools exhibit 78 works of arts in Lagos

    UN@70: Seven schools exhibit 78 works of arts in Lagos


    School Arts Exhibition has taken the centre stage in Lagos as seven schools, public and private, converged at the Library Auditorium of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos to express what the United Nations (UN) meant to them in different artistic forms.

    From oil paints on canvass to pencil drawing, tie-dye, modeling, textile design and waste-to-wealth cultural Industry exhibits, the students put on display a total of seventy-seven (78) creative works of arts which reflected their rich knowledge of the works of the UN and what the organisation stands for.

    Curating their works, the students explained the UN as a Peace-keeper, the human rights protector, a gender equality advocate, an umbrella organisation of all nations and the hope of the people. They also exhibited works that show what the UN does in the area of environment, housing, culture, education and health.

    Addressing the students and other participants, the National Information Officer of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, Oluseyi Soremekun, conveyed the gratitude of the Centre to the participating schools and urged the students and pupils to continue to learn about the United Nations having earlier made a presentation on ‘UN for school children’.

    The one-week Exhibition which will end on Thursday 3 December 2015, was on the opening day livened up by music rendition by the Dothedream band led by Olaiwo Stephen and another solo by ‘Tripple T’ all from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

    Participating schools are Covenant University Secondary School, Ota; Intesida Schools, Alagbado; Ojodu Junior Grammar School, Ojodu; Southfield Academy; Sunglee Formation Schools, Awoyaya and The Outliers Schools, Surulere, all in Lagos.

  • Photos: International youth day 2015

    Photos: International youth day 2015

    Mr. Ronald Kayanja, Director of the United Nations Information Centre, Lagos, delivering the message of the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon
    Mr. Ronald Kayanja, Director of the United Nations Information Centre, Lagos, delivering the message of the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon. Photo by UNIC Lagos

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Group photography of guests and organisers
    Group photography of guests and organisers. Photo by UNIC Lagos

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Mrs. Bimpe Bamgbose-Martins, President of Strategy for Mentoring Initiative and Leadership Empowerment (SMILE) delivering the closing remarks. Photo by UNIC Lagos
    Mrs. Bimpe Bamgbose-Martins, President of Strategy for Mentoring Initiative and Leadership Empowerment (SMILE) delivering the closing remarks. Photo by UNIC Lagos
  • Domestic violence, not a family affairs – UNIC

    Domestic violence, not a family affairs – UNIC


    The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, has reiterated that domestic violence was not a family affairs rather a criminal offence and a breach of fundamental human rights. ‘Incest, rape, abuse and all other forms of domestic violence cannot be a domestic affair,’ the National Information Officer of UNIC Lagos, Mr Oluseyi Soremekun had said at a programme on ‘Domestic Violence: Breaking the Cycle, Dealing with the Consequences’ in Lagos. The programme, jointly organized by UNIC Lagos and Warien Rose Foundation, was attended by students, media and other members of the public. Speaking further, Mr Soremekun called on victims to speak out and seek help, being a bold step to breaking the cycle of domestic violence. He added that everyone should revisit family and societal values which place premium on good conduct and good family name. In her opening remarks, the President of Warien Rose Foundation, Ms Efe Anaughe, expressed concern about the alarming rate of domestic violence especially those related to sexual assault, child abuse and rape. Delivering a keynote address on the occasion, the Information Manager of Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Mr Timothy Melaye, noted that domestic violence ‘is a problem for all of us, no one knows the next victim, could be your brother, sister, friend, neighbour, cousin, niece, nephew, son, daughter or even you.’ He therefore, called on all Nigerians to work to raise our voice against this, shame it, shout it down and support the victims. [news_box style="3" display="tag" link_target="_blank" tag="UN" count="4" show_more="on" show_more_type="link" header_background="#22d83a"]

  • UNIC engages 210 girls at summer camp

    UNIC engages 210 girls at summer camp


    The United Nation Information centre in Lagos has concluded plans to engage no fewer than 230 girl children in different vocational trainings.

    It is summer time, widely known as ‘long vacation period’ within the education circle in Nigeria, during which students and their parents get engaged in some predetermined activities both locally and abroad.

    While many pupils have gone on vacation with their parents after a tedious academic year, some are in camps developing their skills and nourishing their interests without hurting their academic studies.

    The latter, of course is in line with the United Nations strategic framework for the Post-2015 Agenda, especially the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No 5 which dwells on achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls.

    It is in the light of the above that ‘Yes I believe Academy’, a strategic partner of the United Nations Information

    [caption id="attachment_415469" align="alignleft" width="300"]A trainee shoemaker briefs UNIC Director, Mr Ronald Kayanja about shoemaking. A trainee shoemaker briefs UNIC Director, Mr Ronald Kayanja about shoe making.[/caption]

    Centre (UNIC) Lagos, organized a Summer Camp for 210 girls aged between 10 and 18 years. Titled: "Summer Skills Acquisition Workshop", the one week programme featured different training sessions including those on Beadworks, Shoe making, Make-up, soft furnishing, among others.

    Addressing the participants who were students of Gbagada Girls Junior Secondary School, Bariga Lagos, the Director of UNIC Lagos, Mr Ronald Kayanja spoke about the works and history of the United Nations especially the 70th anniversary.

    He noted that skill acquisition was a lifetime gift which should be embraced by everyone who had the opportunity to get one.

    He commended the parents of the participants for sending their children to the summer camp and to the students he congratulated for being a part of the programme which he assured, would have a positive impact on their future.

    In his remarks, the Executive Director of ‘Yes I Believe Academy’, Mr Niyi Adekunle, disclosed that within four days of training, the children demonstrated high level of seriousness and commitment to learning specific skills.

    Later in company of the facilitators, Mr. Adekunle conducted the UNIC team lead by the Director round the exhibition of some of the products produced by the participants. ‘I am highly impressed,’ Mr Kayanja noted.

    [news_box style="2" display="tag" link_target="_blank" tag="UN" count="6" show_more="on" show_more_type="link" header_background="#606060"]

  • UN celebrates International Widows’ Day

    UN celebrates International Widows’ Day

    The United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has advocated for measures to erase the social stigmatisation and economic deprivation that confronts widows.

    The Secretary-General, represented by Mr Ronald Kayanja, Director, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, made the statement in his message during the International Widows’ Day celebration on Tuesday.

    He stressed the need for creating a world with greater equality for generations to come which according to him ‘is the defining challenge of our time’.

    “International Widows’ Day is an opportunity to assert the rights of those whose bereavement is followed by exclusion, abuse or the loss of homes, livelihoods and social standing.

    “Without the economic and social protection of their husbands, many widows are treated as financial burdens by their families. They may lose their rights to inheritance and property, or even be forced out of their communities,’ Mr Ki-moon noted.

    He further said that age, income, ethnicity, disabilities and other factors can put women at greater risk of injustice saying: “These human rights violations stem from the unjust view that women have diminished value. On International Widows’ Day, we reassert the equality of men and women.”

    Similarly, Honourble Abike Dabiri, representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency, who lamented various inhuman treatment which widows often suffer, assured the widows on the position of the law regarding violence against persons – widows inclusive.

    Dabiri maintained that it is punishable under Session 15(1), Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (As reviewed) for anyone to harass, maltreat or abuse a widow.

    According to her, the law which was passed and signed by former President Goodluck Jonathan on 28 May, 2015, states that such offender is liable to a 2-year jail term or pay a fine of N500,000 or be subjected to both forms of punishment depending on the gravity of offence.

    She therefore urged the widows to seek education at all cost stressing that: “If you are educated, you cannot be maltreated or abused.”

    In her speech, Professor Grace Alele Williams advised the widows to endeavour to explore all means available to them including writing to the Ministry of Women Affairs.

    According to her, widows could write letters to the ministry requesting for assistance adding that: “You can also ask the ministry what they have been doing for widows.

    “You can write through agencies like Hope For Life Initiative or any other NGOs around who can help forward and follow up on your case.”

    Prof. Alele warned that there are some widows who often abscond with the money in order not to repay the loan. To this she said: “Those who do such should desist from such act. You can also expose dubious NGOs when you come across them.”

    She also noted that one of the reasons help hardly get to those who needed it most is because some widows prefer to fill in family members who are not widows to benefit from widows-targetted-projects.

    “The United Nations is working on specific measures that can help widows, and I urge other partners to join these efforts,” Mr Ki-moon summed.

  • UNIC Lagos Director commends Nigerian troops

    UNIC Lagos Director commends Nigerian troops

    The Director of the United Nations information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, Mr. Ronald Kayanja has commended Nigeria for its role as a troop contributing country to UN peace operations around the world since the 1960s.

    Mr. Kayanja said this during a lecture on the “United Nations Peace Operations: Organisation and Roles” at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Jaji, Kaduna.

    “As at 31 March 2015, Nigeria had about 3,000 serving officers in UN peacekeeping operations around the world. Currently Nigeria is the 6th largest troop contributor to UN peace operations in Africa and the 10th largest in the world.

    “The United Nations is grateful to Nigeria for its continued support to UN peace efforts,” he noted.

    The UNIC Director informed the Officers of the Nigerian Military that this year, the UN marks 70 years of carrying out its mandate to maintain international peace and security.

    He explained that the UN has seven main avenues to promoting international peace which include preventive diplomacy; peace making; peacekeeping; peace enforcement; peace building; counter terrorism and disarmament.

    “Since its establishment, the UN has deployed 69 peacekeeping operations around the world. Currently, there are 16 ongoing peacekeeping operations and 11 political and peace-building operations around the world,” he observed.

    Mr. Kayanja also explained that the development, human rights and humanitarian work of the United Nations system helps to deal with underlying factors responsible for causing conflict and instability.

    Following the Lecture, the participants engaged the UNIC Director in a discussion which touched on counter terrorism and the UN support to Nigeria, the duration of peace operations, influence of member states to UN initiatives and issues of human rights.

    Receiving the UNIC Director, the Commandant AVM JC Ifemeje, thanked him for making the presentation to the Officers of the Nigerian Military which will go a long way to enable them understand how the UN works, especially in the context of peace operations.