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Tag: UN

  • Buhari will demand repatriation of looted funds at UN Assembly – Onyeama

    President Muhammadu Buhari will demand the repatriation of looted public funds to countries of origin, including Nigeria, at the forthcoming 72nd United Nations General Assembly holding in New York, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, said on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Onyeama explained that the President would lead a large delegation to the Assembly, which would hold between September 12 and 25, 2017.

    Onyeama told journalists at a briefing that the fight against terrorism, human rights protection, and repatriation of illicit financial assets to countries of origin, among other global issues, would top Nigeria’s agenda at the UN.

    He pointed out that the Federal Government was facing challenges of repatriating stolen funds stashed in foreign countries.

    He said, “The country would push to actualise the UN resolution on ‘Promotion of International Cooperation to Combat Illicit Financial Flows,’ so that all the countries of the world would be fully engaged in repatriating stolen funds to countries of origin.

    “For Nigeria, it is a developmental issue — it impacts directly on the developmental trajectory of Nigeria and other developing countries that resources that we need to promote development in the country are being siphoned out of the system and this has negative impact on the developmental challenges that we face.”

    The Minister added that President Buhari would renew calls for international support for the release of the remaining Chibok girls.

  • UN urges Togo to respond to protesters’ ‘expectations’

    The United Nations urged Togo to respond to people’s “legitimate expectations” as police clashed with protesters demanding an end to the 50-year ruling family dynasty for a third day on Friday.

    Thousands of people have taken to the streets since Wednesday to demand that President Faure Gnassingbe step aside in the biggest challenge to his family’s power since the death of his father in 2005.

    Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the UN Special Envoy for West Africa and the Sahel, called on all parties “to preserve peace and security, which are valuable assets in West Africa”.

    Chambas, who met Gnassingbe on Thursday, has delayed his departure and is staying in Togo for further discussions, his spokesman said.

    “I remain convinced that all parties want to move forward on the reforms … in order to reach a consensus to respond to the legitimate expectations of the Togolese people,” Chambas said in a statement.

    Police used tear gas to disperse protesters who were burning tyres in the opposition stronghold of Be in the capital, Lome, on Friday, Reuters news agency said.

    But the unrest was less widespread than in previous days and in other areas of the seaside capital, including the centre, traffic had resumed and shops were reopening amid a heavy police and paramilitary presence.

    Security forces cleared barricades erected by the protesters.

    Residents said text messages and phone calls were still restricted on Friday. The internet has also suffered outages, according to watchdog Internet Without Borders.

    The president’s father Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power in a coup in 1967 and ruled for 38 years before his death.

    In response to protests, he introduced a 1992 constitution that brought in multiparty democracy and limited presidential terms to two.

    Ten years later, legislators scrapped the term limit so Eyadema could run for another term.

    However, ever since Gambian long-time leader Yahya Jammeh was forced out after losing an election last December, West African countries have become unanimous in accepting two terms as the limit on presidential office – the only exception being Togo.

  • UN resumes humanitarian assistance to IDPs in Borno 24hrs after army raid

    The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Saturday resumed assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State, 24 hours after an army raid on its Maiduguri compound.

    The organisation had suspended its activities to protest the raid which the army said was in search of high profile elements of the terror sect, Boko Haram, which informants claimed had infiltrated the part of the city where the building is located.

    UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator, Edward Kallon called the raid unauthorised and expressed “grave concern over the unauthorised search” of the UN base for humanitarian workers.

    But the army said it was not aware that the building housed UN personnel, and described the global organisation as one of its strongest and worthy allies in the fight against Boko Haram.

    Governor Kashim Shettima, in a swift response to the suspension of activities by UNOCHA, convened an emergency security council meeting on Friday to review the development.

    In attendance were the General Officer Commanding the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, the State Commissioner of Police, the State Director of DSS and the United Nations Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Peter Lundberg.

    Shettima also put a call through to UN’s Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, to reassure the organisation of government’s commitment to safeguarding the lives of the humanitarian workers and ensuring respect for international protocol.

    At the security council meeting the governor pledged government’s continued diplomatic protection for the UN personnel.

    Participants resolved to take measures to forestall a repeat of the raid.

    At the end of the meeting, all those in attendance, including Shettima, proceeded to the UN property as a sign of good faith and to rebuild public confidence in humanitarian workers.

    Speaking to reporters separately, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru described the United Nations as one of its strongest and worthy allies in the counter insurgency fight against Boko Haram.

    He said the army was always ready to work with all UN agencies in the Northeast with a view to ending the current crisis.

    Major General Attahiru said the UN building was not singled out for search and that the army was not even aware that it was being used by a UN agency.

    He said:”The Nigerian Army is very aware of the need of the UN agencies to discharge their duties and we are ready to support them.

    “The army will continue to work toward providing enabling and conducive environment to UN agencies to enhance their operations.

    “We are working in the front line with the UN; it is complimenting the effort of the government by providing succour to the displaced victims.

    “Such working collaboration is imperative to ensure success of the counter-insurgency campaign in the country.”

    He explained further that the action was based on intelligence report made available to the military and not a deliberate plan to drag the image of the UN to the mud.

    He said the military has recorded significant successes in its various operations in the theatre in over the last two weeks.

    Dozens of Boko Haram insurgents, according to him, were neutralised and arrests made.

    He added: “The development assisted to reduce spate of suicide bombing and insurgents’ attacks. It should not be misconstrued that the Nigerian Army is trying to stop the UN from discharging its activities. We are partners in progress in the counter insurgency operations.”

  • Boko Haram: Army searches UN staff house in Maiduguri

    The Nigerian Army on Friday said it had conducted condone and search operation at a building housing the United Nation (UN) staff in Maiduguri following alert on high profile Boko Haram members.

    Lt. Col. Samuel Kingsley, the spokesperson, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, said in a statement released in Maiduguri that the army had intensified condone and search operation in Maiduguri and its environs to clear remnants of Boko Haram insurgents.

    “On 10th August 2017, the Theatre Command received information from credible sources that some high profiled Boko Haram insurgents infiltrated into Pompomari-ByePass area of Maiduguri.

    “It, therefore, became expedient to take preemptive action by combing the general area through a cordon and search operations.

    “The operation was successfully conducted as over 30 houses were searched.

    One of such building included a property which was said to be occupied by United Nations Staff, although the property did not carry a UN designation.

    “On the whole, operation in the general area was successfully concluded but no arrest was made because the suspects were not found,” Kingsley said.

    Kingsley noted that troops under the Operation LAFIYA DOLE had been conducting several clearance as well as cordon and search operations in urban and rural areas within the Theatre.

    He said that the clearance operations effort had yielded significant successes in the past weeks.

    According to him, the operation had forced Boko Haram insurgents to change tactics and resort to suicide bombing targeting military locations and the populace.

    Kingsley stressed that the operation was necessitated by the need to intensify Cordon and Search in Maiduguri metropolis and environment.

    He listed other areas affected by the operation as Jiddari –Polo, Muna Garage, Jakana among others.

    “The command wishes to assure the general public that the operations are being conducted to safeguard lives and properties but not targeted at any individual or group.

    “Members of the public are cautioned against peddling rumours which may cause disaffection and to remain law abiding”.

  • U.S notifies UN of withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord

    The United States has submitted to the United Nations a formal notice of withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement.

    The notification was made Friday, with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealing to the U.S. to reconsider its action, in the interest of humanity.

    President Donald Trump had announced on June 1, 2017 that the U.S. would leave the agreement.

    The Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Mr Stéphane Dujarric, confirmed that Guterres received, “in his capacity as Depositary of the Paris Agreement, a communication from the Permanent Representative of the United States of America”.

    The Secretary General, however, welcomed any effort to re-engage in the Paris Agreement by the United States.

    Dujarric said the communication expressed “the intention of the United States to exercise its right to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, as soon as it is eligible to do so under the Agreement, unless it identifies suitable terms for re-engagement”.

    Guterres stressed his statement on June 1, 2017 that the decision by the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is a major disappointment for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote global security.

    “It is crucial that the United States remains a leader on climate and sustainable development. Climate change is impacting now.

    “He looks forward to engaging with the American government and all other actors in the United States and around the world to build the sustainable future for our children and future generations,” Guterres said.

    Under article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a Party may withdraw at any time after three years from the date on which the Agreement has entered into force for that Party, and such withdrawal takes effect upon expiry of one year from the date of receipt by the Depositary of the notification of withdrawal.

    The United States accepted the Paris Agreement on Sept. 3, 2016 and the Agreement entered into force for the United States on Nov. 4, 2016.

    The Secretary-General would circulate the text of this communication as a depositary notification, in English and French, early next week.

    The U.S. Department of State, in a statement, confirmed “the United States submitted a communication to the United Nations, in its capacity as depositary for the Paris Agreement, regarding the U.S. intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as it is eligible to do so, consistent with the terms of the Agreement”.

    “As the President indicated in his June 1 announcement and subsequently, he is open to re-engaging in the Paris Agreement if the United States can identify terms that are more favorable to it, its businesses, its workers, its people, and its taxpayers.

    “The United States supports a balanced approach to climate policy that lowers emissions while promoting economic growth and ensuring energy security.

    “We will continue to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions through innovation and technology breakthroughs, and work with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently and deploy renewable and other clean energy sources, given the importance of energy access and security in many nationally determined contributions.

    “The United States will continue to participate in international climate change negotiations and meetings, including the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP-23) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, to protect U.S. interests and ensure all future policy options remain open to the administration.

    “Such participation will include ongoing negotiations related to guidance for implementing the Paris Agreement,” the department said.

     

  • Mobile subscriptions to surpass 500m by 2020 – Study

    The Global System for Mobile communication Association (GSMA) says more than half a billion people across Sub-Saharan Africa would be subscribed to a mobile service by the end of the decade.

    This is contained in GSMA report titled: “The Mobile Economy: Sub-Saharan Africa, 2017”.

    Mr. Mats Granryd, Director General of GSMA, said in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos that the report was authored by GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of the association.

    He said that the number of unique mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa as at the end of 2016 was 420 million, which accounted for 43 per cent of the population.

    He, however, said that the figure would grow to 535 million, which would be 50 per cent of the population in 2020.

    According to him, the mobile subscription growth would make Sub-Saharan Africa the fastest growing region in the world, over the period.

    “Sub-Saharan Africa mobile ecosystem will grow contribution to regional GDP, jobs, innovation and socio-economic development.

    “Sub-Saharan Africa will be a key engine of subscriber growth for the world’s mobile industry over the next few years.

    “This is as we connect millions of previously unconnected men, women and young people across the continent.

    “Mobile is also offering sustainable solutions that address the lack of access to services such as health, education, electricity, clean water and financial services, which still affect large swathes of the population,’’ he said.

    Granryd said the subscriber growth was expected to be concentrated in large, under penetrated markets such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania.

    He said that these countries would account for half of the 115 million new subscribers expected in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.

    According to him, mobile growth will also focus on currently under-represented segments such as the under-16 age group, which accounts for more than 40 per cent of the population in many countries.

    He said that growth would also focus on women, who were currently 17 per cent less likely to have a mobile phone subscription than their male counterparts.

    Granryd said that the mobile phone was also a vital tool in delivering digital and financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    He said that around 270 million people in the region now access the internet through mobile devices.

    The GSMA Director General said that the number of registered mobile money accounts had reached 280 million.

    According to him, mobile operators and others are also leveraging the ubiquity of mobile networks across the region to deliver services.

    “These services are working towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in areas such as energy, water and sanitation, healthcare and education,’’ he added.

     

  • 122 nations seal UN atomic weapons ban treaty, without nuclear powers

    122 nations seal UN atomic weapons ban treaty, without nuclear powers

    A treaty that bans nuclear weapons was adopted by 122 countries at the UN on Friday, but countries with nuclear arsenals are boycotting the pact.

    The treaty obliges countries not to develop, test, produce or possess nuclear arms, or to acquire them by other means – “never under any circumstances.”

    The significance of the pact was drawn into question by the absence of the nine countries with existing or nascent arsenals: the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

    Germany and other members of NATO also stayed away from the negotiations because nuclear deterrence is a cornerstone of the military alliance.

    Countries such as Austria, Norway, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil had pushed for the treaty, arguing that there had been little progress in disarmament in recent years.

    However, the pact could put pressure on the nuclear powers to reduce their stockpiles.

    In Geneva, Red Cross chief Peter Maurer hailed the treaty as a “victory for our shared humanity.”

    “Today, the world has taken an historic step towards de-legitimising these indiscriminate and inhumane weapons, which is a crucial basis for their future elimination,’’ Maurer said.

  • UN chief restates support to FG over Boko Haram

    The Secretary-General of the UN, Mr António Guterres, has reiterated the organisation’s support to the Federal Government in the ongoing fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

    Guterres, in a statement by his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, condemned the series of suicide bombing attacks in Maiduguri on Monday.

    “The Secretary-General reiterates the United Nations’ support to the Government of Nigeria in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism,” the statement read.

    The Secretary-General extended his condolences to the people and Government of Nigeria for the loss of lives.

    The UN chief also wished a quick recovery to those injured in the series of suicide bombing attacks.

    According to him, he hopes that those responsible for the dastardly act will be swiftly brought to justice.

  • Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, YouTube form grand alliance

    A host of Internet tech giants have teamed up to form a grand alliance known as Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism with the aim to help make their hosted consumer services hostile to terrorists and violent extremists.

    The spread of terrorism and violent extremism has become a pressing global problem and a critical challenge for all.

    “We take these issues very seriously, and each of our companies have developed policies and removal practices that enable us to take a hard line against terrorist or violent extremist content on our hosted consumer services.

    “We believe that by working together, sharing the best technological and operational elements of our individual efforts, we can have a greater impact on the threat of terrorist content online,” a statement released by the forum of the tech giants read.

    The new forum builds on initiatives including the EU Internet Forum and the Shared Industry Hash Database; discussions with the UK and other governments; and the conclusions of the recent G7 and European Council meetings.

    The forum said the scope of its work will evolve over time as there would be need for it to be responsive to the ever-evolving terrorist and extremist tactics.

    It said, initially, the scope would include technological solutions that will involve the tech firms working together to refine and improve existing joint technical work such as the Shared Industry Hash Database; exchange best practices as well as develop and implement new content detection and classification techniques using machine learning; and define standard transparency reporting methods for terrorist content removals.

    Also, the grand alliance said it will adopt knowledge-sharing in its modus operandi by working with counter-terrorism experts including governments, civil society groups, academics and other companies to engage in shared learning about terrorism, and through a joint partnership with the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (UN CTED) and the ICT4Peace Initiative, it will establish a broad knowledge-sharing network to engage with smaller companies, develop best practices and counter-speech.

     

     

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  • Saraki’s acquittal: SERAP seeks UN-backed Commission against Impunity in Nigeria

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has faulted the acquittal of Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal charges, saying the acquittal “suggest serious shortcomings” in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

    The CCT on Wednesday dismissed the 18-count of false asset declaration against Saraki following his no-case submission. But SERAP, in a statement by its deputy director Timothy Adewale on Thursday, said that the acquittal seriously weakened the notion that high-ranking public office holders accused of corruption would be held accountable.

    It said, “The acquittal yesterday of the Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) of corruption charges suggests serious shortcomings in the criminal justice system, and means that a complementary and supportive mechanism in the form of a UN-backed commission against corruption and impunity in Nigeria is urgently needed to achieve President Muhammadu Buhari’s oft-stated anti-corruption agenda.”

    SERAP, therefore, urged the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, “to urgently and proactively pursue the establishment of a UN-backed International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity to assist our criminal justice system to effectively and efficiently investigate and prosecute high-level corruption cases in the country, like it happened in Guatemala, for example. This government needs help in its fight against corruption, and strong leadership is now needed to urgently design a complementary and supportive plan.”

    According to SERAP, a UN-backed commission would help to improve our criminal justice system in the short, medium and long terms so that it would be better able to prosecute complex grand corruption cases.

    The group further argued that the Commission would also meet the longstanding and legitimate demands of the Nigerian people for vigorous and meaningful action against corrupt leaders, past or present.

    “Supporting a strong partnership between Nigerian prosecutors and international law enforcement experts would show that the authorities have the ability and political will to chip away at the country’s corruption and impunity of perpetrators, and help address Nigerians’ scepticism about the viability of the anti-corruption agenda.

    “Further, to end a culture of corruption and impunity of perpetrators, we urge the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN to urgently take over the prosecution of the corruption case against Mr Saraki by ensuring that the CCT decision is urgently appealed and that the case is diligently prosecuted within the limits of the rule of law.

    “The outcome of the Saraki’s case sends a damaging message that suspected corrupt leaders can get away with their crimes while keeping their stolen assets. Many would-be corrupt leaders may now see engaging in acts of corruption a risk worth taking.

    “The Guatemalan commission established by the UN in 2006 has a strong record of fighting organised crime and high-level corruption and the Nigerian authorities can learn valuable lessons from its operation and achievements in the efforts to take the fight against corruption in this country to another level.”