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Tag: United Nations

  • Bring Back Our Girls – UN speaks out

    Bring Back Our Girls – UN speaks out

    Two years ago 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram militants from a school in Chibok, in Borno State, Nigeria. To date, only a handful of them have come back.

    I stand in outrage and solidarity with their families, demanding their return.

    These girls are not alone – thousands of others have been taken over the years before and after Chibok, subjected to unspeakable terror and brutality. They have been forced to marry Boko Haram fighters and live in sexual slavery. Many may have been trafficked across borders and sold. Horrifically, some have been turned into weapons against their own communities, sent back as suicide bombers to inflict maximum fear and casualties in markets and other public spaces.

    Many of those who have managed to escape have come back pregnant or with children. But instead of being welcomed, they and their children are often marginalised and ostracised, shunned by families and neighbours, viewed with suspicion and labeled as “Boko Haram wives and babies”.

    I urge the Nigerian authorities to redouble efforts to find and liberate the Chibok girls and so many others who have been abducted, and to provide health, psychological and trauma services for those who do manage to return. I also call on religious and traditional leaders to play a role to ensure that women and girls are treated with compassion and accepted back in their communities, and to shift the stigma of sexual violence from the victims to the perpetrators. We all have a sacred duty of care for these girls.

    Sexual violence is central to the ideology and strategy of terrorist groups like Boko Haram, who use it as an incentive for recruitment and fundraising among other core objectives. Therefore, we must also place the protection and empowerment of women and girls at the center of global, regional and national strategies to counter violent extremism.

  • Why democracy is failing in Africa – Maitama Sule

    Why democracy is failing in Africa – Maitama Sule

    Former permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations and elder stateman, Alhaji Maitama Sule, Wednesday said democracy was failing in Africa because the culture of the people was not being taken into consideration in shaping it.

    Speaking at the opening of the first Faculty of Arts International Conference of the University of Calabar at the Conference Centre of the institution Wednesday, Sule, said, “In Africa we have been having problems with democracy and I believe it is because we have not taken into account our cultural background in shaping our type of democracy.

    “Is the American style of democracy the same as that of Great Britain? Is the British the same as France? Is France practicing the same as Russia? Until we take our culture into consideration in shaping our own democracy, we shall not succeed and continue to have problems. The democracy we are practicing today is not Afrocentric, but Eurocentric. We are not practicing our democracy along the lines of our culture.”

    The Conference had as its theme, Globalization and Democratic Values in Africa: Perspective in the Humanities.

    Sule also emphasized the need for justice for everyone in a democratic setting.

    He said, “I believe in democracy. At the end of the day it is justice for all. The president has to do justice to all irrespective of background. Justice should be done to whosoever deserves it. That is democracy. Justice is the only way that we can follow to achieve greatness and it should be done to all and sundry. The world should never be government by force and fear and power. Justice is what this democracy wants.”

    Vice Chancellor, Prof Zana Akpagu, said the topic for the conference was very apt, especially in view of the fact that the world was now a global village, as anything that happens in any part of the world affects every other part.

    “Nigeria is still grappling with democracy, but we will get there and we can only get there through discussions like this, and for us as an administration we are ready to encourage any efforts that are geared to enthroning the culture of intellectual discussion. We are ready to promote academic excellence through seminars and conferences like this,” he said.

    Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof (Mrs) Dorothy Oluwagbemi-Jacob, said democracy is a cherished value and it is particularly appealing to those whose yearnings for freedom, equality and justice are daily frustrated.

    Oluwagbemi-Jacob said genuine democracy creates space for incentives to increase the productivity of the people, make provision for social welfare services in education and health to enable people produce more, as well as make it possible for the people to choose their representatives to governmental decision-making bodies.

    The Dean said globalization studies call for an interdisciplinary approach comprehensive enough to capture the ‘big picture’, and hoped the Conference would provide answers to the link between globalization and democracy.

    Among dignitaries who attended the event as well as made contributions were former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; former Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu; former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife; former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Idongesit Nkanga; and Rt Hon Nduese Essien among others.

     

  • FG, UN engage private sector on Sustainable Industrial Development

    FG, UN engage private sector on Sustainable Industrial Development

    In pursuance of the commitment of the Federal Government and the United Nations (UN) to sustainable development, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), are organizing a Private Sector Engagement Workshop on Sustainable Industrial Development in Nigeria.

    The workshop seeks to engage the Organised Private Sector (OPS) in discussing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a view to stimulating strategic alignment between private sector business plans and the SDGs. This workshop, contributes to the UN’s Goal 9: ‘Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.’

    The workshop is expected to be addressed by the Senior Special Adviser to the President on SDGs, Hon. (Mrs.) Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and the Resident Coordinator of the UN system in Nigeria, Ms Fatma Samoura, and it is scheduled to hold on Wednesday 13th April, 2016 at the Conference Hall of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) House, 77, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja Lagos.
    It will be recalled that the UN Information Centre (UNIC) had an engagement with the Civil Society partners on the Sustainable Development Goals in February.

  • Who should lead the United Nations?

    This year, the United Nations will choose its next Secretary-General. We need the best possible candidate for the job.

    It is often spoken of as the most impossible job in the world.

    And given the files that the next United Nations Secretary-General will take over on 1 January 2017, it is easy to see why: appalling conflicts and human suffering in parts of the Middle East, Africa and Europe; violent extremism that is threatening us all; continued discrimination against women and girls; a worrying rise in xenophobia; over 800 million people struggling to escape extreme poverty; close to 60 million displaced around the world; a unique window-of-opportunity to address Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals before it is too late; and an Organization that needs to adapt to the challenges and new Goals the world is facing.

    In its 70 year history, the UN, for all its flaws, has demonstrated that it can rise to such challenges. But to do so today, it must secure the best possible candidate through this year’s process of selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General.

    The role of the UN Secretary-General

    Many have suggested that the UN’s most senior official should either be a Secretary or a General. This is too simplistic, for the Secretary-General must be both and more.

    A person with strong moral courage and integrity; he or she – and I do not see why the best candidate should not be a woman – must be a voice for the world’s most vulnerable people and embody the very ideals and purposes of the United Nations.

    The world’s top diplomat; the Secretary-General must use her independence, impartiality and good offices to prevent conflict, broker peace and stand-up for human rights.

    A person with political stature and strong leadership skills – with the authority to bring to the attention of the UN Security Council any matter which in her opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.
    As the chief administrative officer of the UN, the Secretary-General must create a culture of integrity, fairness, competence and efficiency right across the UN family and oversee a huge Organization with a budget of approximately $10 billion, a staff of over 40,000 and 41 peace operations worldwide.

    The Secretary-General must be a person with strong inter-personal and communication skills – able to navigate smoothly in our increasingly multi-polar world and drive a global transition to sustainable development.

    An archaic selection process

    One might think, therefore, that the process for choosing the Secretary-General would be as vigorous, inclusive and transparent as possible.

    But to date this has not been the case.

    Previously, there has been no clarity on when the selection process actually started or, somewhat unbelievably, who was actually running for the job. Also, there has been no formal job description and no real opportunity for substantive and open engagement with the candidates – neither for the full UN membership nor the public.

    The result: Recommendations negotiated behind closed doors – primarily by the five permanent members of the Security Council; eight Secretaries-General, not one of whom has been female; and a mostly symbolic appointment by the UN General Assembly. Therefore, Secretaries-General have, not always rightfully, been perceived to be beholden to the very powers that they must be most independent of.

    A better way to choose the next SG

    The UN Charter is clear on the respective roles of the Security Council and the General Assembly in the selection and appointment process and it must be adhered to.

    But recent changes to the process itself, agreed to by all 193 members of the General Assembly, provide us with a genuine opportunity to make it more transparent, more robust, more inclusive and ultimately, more effective.

    As President of that Assembly, it is my job to ensure that those changes are implemented.

    So here’s what’s happening.

    Last December, the President of the Security Council and I set the selection process in motion by issuing a call for candidates to be presented as early as possible.

    We outlined the central features of the process. We pointed out some of the key criteria for the position and, in light of seven decades of male dominance, we encouraged member states to present both female and male candidates.

    To date, seven candidates have been presented and their biographies and related information are now publicly available on my website.

    But perhaps the greatest opportunity to truly break from the past comes in the form of open dialogues that I will hold with the candidates. These dialogues – referred to by some as the ‘SG hearings’ – will begin on April 12.

    Each candidate is expected to prepare a vision statement on the challenges and opportunities facing the UN and the next Secretary-General. They will present themselves for two-hours of questions from the full UN membership as well as from civil society and each dialogue will be streamed live online. The dialogues will continue with new candidates until the Security Council makes its recommendation. And I expect everyone who is serious about becoming the world’s next chief diplomat to engage openly and directly with the full UN membership and the people that he or she will ultimately serve.

    An opportunity for change

    Of course, these innovations will not directly transform our world and discussions continue on issues such as the length and renewability of the Secretary-General’s term and whether the General Assembly should vote on an appointment or not.

    But they do have the potential to establish a new standard of transparency and inclusivity in international affairs. They can increase our chances of securing the best possible candidate to lead the United Nations. And they represent, I believe, a moment in history when the General Assembly – the world’s most representative and democratic decision-making body – reasserts itself.

    Given the global challenges we face today, this could be a real game-changer.

    So, please, go online, participate on social media, make yourself heard and help us find the best possible candidate for UN Secretary-General, that our world needs.

    By Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly

  • Ban Ki-moon celebrates Africans

    Ban Ki-moon celebrates Africans

    The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on everyone to work together for equal opportunity, justice and sustainable development for people of African descent.

    According to the Secretary General, Africa’s influence and legacy are plain to see in the vibrant music, bold art, rich foods and inspiring literature that infuse modern culture.

    Delivering the Secretary General’s message on the 2016 International Day of remembrance of the victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Lagos, the Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, Mr Ronald Kayanja noted that the theme of this year’s observance was “Remember Slavery: Celebrating the Heritage and Culture of the African Diaspora and its Roots”.

    He stressed that the contributions that the people of the African Diaspora have made to medicine, science, government and general leadership in society are perhaps less recognized.

    The activities marking the day, held at Southfield Academy, Bariga Lagos, included a screening of the film, ‘Queen Nanny: Legendary Maroon Chieftainess’; Poster Exhibition on ‘Africans in India: From Slaves to Generals and Rulers’; briefing and quiz on the ‘The Ark of Return’; and a WebEx interlink with students in Accra-Ghana and Nairobi-Kenya.

    While curating the poster exhibits, the National Information Officer of UNIC Lagos, Mr Oluseyi Soremekun, urged the students to learn from the resilience and determination of Africans who were taken to India as slaves

    According to him many of them went on to become Generals, Rulers, and leading professionals while their women became queens in India.

    Recalling lessons learnt from the exhibition, 17-year old Chisom Maduba of Southfield Academy Lagos, recounts: “We should not deny our roots. We should be proud of our African heritage” while 15-year old Emmanuel Udeaja, acknowledged that he had learnt to say ‘No’ to any form of slavery, racism and human trafficking, adding that the film taught him courage and morals.

    Earlier, the Proprietress and Administrator of Southfield Academy, Mrs Chioma Dawodu acknowledged the impact of UNIC’s educational programmes and urged the students to seize the opportunity to learn about Slavery and the TransAtlantic Slave Trade which, according to her, would help them in recognising those situations that could lead to modern day slavery.

    In his remarks, the Executive Director of African Anti-Salvery Coalition, Mr Olufemi Philips, urged everyone to stand firm for freedom and do what is right at all cost just like Queen Nanny.

     

  • Riders for health

    Riders for health


    There is no denial that the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations (UN) and many other non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as various parastatals have engaged in endless struggles to provide health care for mothers and children across less privileged communities in Africa.

    Interestingly, the more these health organisations make efforts, the less it seems they are doing greatly in reducing maternal and child mortality, thus, the need for ‘Riders for Health’.

    According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports in 2014, Nigeria loses about 2, 300 of her under‐five year old children per day, which is approximately 839,500 children in a year.

    The same report has it that 145 pregnant women reportedly die either at child birth or after child birth per day. And this amounts to 52, 925 women per year.

    Given this statistics, Nigeria ‐ like many other African countries – ranks high as one of the countries with large contribution to the under‐five and maternal mortality rates in the world.

    Worthy of mention here is the fact that many of these deaths could be prevented if aid gets to those who need them, regardless of their locations – rural or urban settlement.

    It is largely true that the coverage and quality of health care service delivered to communities that are at the outskirts or in far rural areas has continued to fail both women and children in Nigeria. Thus, the need to introduce a project called: ‘Riders for Health’.

    ‘Riders for Health’ is an international social enterprise that strives to manage and maintain vehicles for health‐focused partners in sub‐Saharan Africa with the view of delivering health care services to communities far from cities.

    The expertise to be put in place by this project in transport management will enable health workers deliver vital health care to rural communities on a reliable and cost‐effective basis.

    The need for Riders for health became pertinent considering the challenges faced by health care givers in reaching communities that are far removed from urban settlements.

    What this means is that, not only that those members of communities that are far from cities often struggle in vain to get health care, even health care workers likewise struggle in a bid to save affected Riders for Health employs the use of every form of motor‐vehicles to deliver health care facilities as well as move health care givers to concerned communities.

    Among the motor‐vehicles that would be employed by this project include motorcycles, ambulances and other four‐wheel vehicles used in the delivery of health care in seven countries across Africa.

    These countries include Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and The Gambia.

    The project is in collaboration with ministries of health, international and African NGOs, private‐sector organisations, local community‐based organisations and religious groups, to improve access to health care,

    Furthermore, it is important to note here that the project has the capacity to take care of an estimated 14 million people across the seven African countries mentioned above.

    For example, one single motor‐vehicle plus one rider has the capacity to cover 56.7 kilometers and beyond within a month covering a total of 5.1 million people.

    At the core of this community‐focused project is both training and preventive vehicle maintenance. The essence for running reliable vehicle fleets cannot be separated from the need to ensure that the chain in health care delivery is never broken by failing vehicles thereby increasing health workers’

    The same way, prevention is better than cure in human health, so is maintenance better than repair for automobiles, hence the need for constant maintenance, which is also cheaper to keep a vehicle running efficiently over time than to repair it when it breaks down completely.

    The programmes have been designed to provide training and employment opportunities to build local  a project focusing on human health, the service of highly skilled technicians becomes vital to regularly travel to service vehicles in the communities in which health workers serve.

    In addition to training health workers to drive safely in the difficult terrain, there would also be training for them on how to carry out daily checks on their vehicles.

    It worthy of note to mention that majority of the population of sub‐Saharan Africans live in rural areas where the best roads are little more than dirt tracks.

    Public transport is infrequent and delivering health care on foot or by bicycle between sparse villages is an exhausting and ineffective task.

    Simply put, without reliable transportation system, the millions of pounds invested in vaccines, drugs, bed‐nets, condoms and to train health professionals every year will be wasted because they will fail to get to where they are needed on time.

    There is therefore every reason for this project to achieve the set goal in order to have a safe and healthy world.

  • UN Security Council condemn Dalori attack

    The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attacks on 30 January, 2016 attributed to Boko Haram in Dalori village in north eastern Nigeria.

    The insurgents’ inhuman attack resulted in a large number of deaths and casualties.

    The members of the Security Council expressed their deep condolences and sympathy to the families and friends of those killed and injured by these heinous acts, as well as to the people and the Government of Nigeria.

    The members of the Security Council commended the efforts of the region, including through the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), to effectively combat Boko Haram and encourage further progress in this regard.

    The Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

    The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice.

    They stressed that those responsible for these terrorist attacks should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard.

    The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever and whenever, and by whomsoever committed.

    They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

  • UN solicits media support for SDGs campaign in Nigeria

    UN solicits media support for SDGs campaign in Nigeria

    The National Information Officer of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, Mr. Oluseyi Soremekun, has called on Nigerian Media to give their full support to the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in continuation of the unflinching support they accorded the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the past fifteen years.

    Mr. Soremekun said this recently during a radio programme, ‘Civil Society (C.S) Weekly’ on Radio One 103.5 FM., where he commended the media for their contribution to the success of the MDGs.

    The UN Information Officer acknowledged that the media remained a strategic partner of the United Nations in its quest to disseminate the SDGs to the generality of Nigerians.

    He urged the various media organisations in the country to regard the SDGs campaign as a public service geared towards improving the society. ‘The media should develop variety of programmes within the framework of the SDGs to widen the knowledge base of their audiences.

    Speaking on the plans of UNIC Lagos to publicise the SDGs, Soremekun disclosed that the SDGs have been translated into four local languages: Pidging English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba to enhance the understanding of the SDGs and its goals and for greater uptake and buy-in by the people.

    “Besides,” he continued, “UNIC Lagos on 1 January 2016, launched the ’17 – 17 SDGs campaign’ on the social media to reach the bulk of youths who socialize every second on the social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.” He added that the campaign was meant to highlight the 17 goals of the SDGs in the first 17 days of every month from January to December.

    Mr. Soremekun rounded up the radio interview with a brief insight into UNIC Lagos activities for this year, which according to him, included school outreach, media outreach, programmes on climate change and the SDGs as well as observance of International Days.

  • Nigerian journalist wins UN Foundation Gold Prize

    Nigerian journalist wins UN Foundation Gold Prize

    A Nigerian journalist, Augustina Armstrong-Ogbonna has been awarded the United Nations Foundation Gold Prize for Development and humanitarian reporting.
    Armstrong-Ogbonna, a freelance journalist with Radio Nigeria (Radio One) won the Gold medal for her reportage on neglected coastal communities along the Lagos coastline that are bearing the drastic impact of sea rise as well as threats of displacement.
    She was awarded the United Nations Foundation Gold Prize for print (including online media) and broadcast media (TV & Radio), for Development and Humanitarian Reporting.
    The award and gold medal was presented to her by the Secretary General of the United Nations; Mr Ban Ki-Moon on Monday in New York at the 20th United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Annual Awards for the best print, broadcast (TV & Radio) and online, web-based media coverage of the United Nations, U.N. agencies and field operations.
    The prize was awarded for her report on how climate change and rapid urbanization is affecting coastal communities such as Okun Alfa, Otodo-gbame in Lagos with extinction and eviction respectively.
    According to the UNCA; “Augustina Armstrong-Ogbonna braves dangers to report on Nigeria’s coastal communities ravaged by conflict and degrading environment that affect development and human lives.”
    With almost ten years of experience as a multimedia and Environmental Journalist, Tina has focused her reportage on neglected communities across Nigeria such as Okun Alfa and Otodo Gbame in Eti-Osa local government area, Sagbo Kodji Island and Makoko in Lagos state. Sagbo Kodji has never had power supply despite being located on an island that overlooks high rise of commercial Lagos Island as well as Apapa sea port.
    The report was picked online by a renewable energy company owned by two young Nigerians, whose company approached the community and provided solar power panels and battery to some homes and ventures on the island, thereby lighting up the community for the first time in over a century of its existence.
    Reacting to the prize, Tina said “I am completely humbled by this recognition from the United Nations. It is a major encouragement for me to persist with impacting journalism that affects the common man and development of the environment. I am must obliged for this.”
    Until recently, Tina produced and presented a weekly environmental programme on community development called Community Diary on Radio One 103.5 FM in Lagos. She has also produced content for REUTERS, CNN, German Information Center GIC and EnviroNews Nigeria.
  • UN finance ministers meet to cut Islamic State financing

    UN finance ministers meet to cut Islamic State financing

    Finance ministers of UN Security Council member states began a meeting on Thursday to pass a resolution making global financial system to stop funding of the Islamic State group.

    U.S. ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said in New York that the meeting would bring together leaders in an effort to coordinate financial systems worldwide.

    She said that the time had come for a unanimous decision to starve the Islamic State of its funding.

    She said that finance ministers had the technical expertise needed to consolidate efforts to successfully cut off the extremist group from its resources.

    Adam Szubin, acting Under Secretary of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of Treasury, said the council would adopt a resolution to strengthen existing UN sanctions regime on al-Qaeda to focus on the Islamic State.

    He said the text would allow the UN to impose sanctions on any entity that aided or associated with the extremist group.

    Szubin said that the body would also call on countries to step up information sharing across borders and with the private sector.

    “It’s about when banks see a suspicious transaction, are they flagging that for financial authorities?
    “Is that information accessible to law enforcement and can it be married with travel and intelligence data, so that we can have the best possible chance of disrupting the next attack?’’ he said.

    The Security Council adopted a resolution in February aiming to cut off funding sources of the Islamic State by suppressing illegal oil exports, trafficking of cultural heritage, ransom payments and donations to the extremist groups.