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A wide view of the
Security Council Chamber as Special Representative Mohammed Ibn Chambas (on
screen), addresses the meeting on threats to international peace and security
caused by the extremist group Boko Haram. UN Photo/Loey Felipe
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As the Security
Council met this morning to discuss threats to international peace and security
caused by terrorism, top United Nations officials briefed the 15-member body on
the impact of Boko Haram in Nigeria and beyond, warning of the group’s
intensified violence and brutality.
“Though weakened, the
group continues to commit horrendous acts against civilians, including against
women and children,” said Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA). “Boko
Haram’s recent allegiance to the Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),
whether for publicity reasons or to tap into ISIL’s support, is also of concern
as it is gives a clear signal that Boko Haram’s agenda goes well beyond
Nigeria.”
United Nations news source reports:
Mr. Chambas, who was
joined in the Council by Assistant Secretary-General Kyung Wha-Kang of the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, outlined reports of the
abduction, abuse, recruiting, maiming and killing of children, saying schools
in the country’s north-east and in areas of Cameroon and Niger targeted by Boko
Haram no longer safe places of learning, with many attacked, looted, and
destroyed.
“In 2014, the group
also commenced using young girls as suicide bombers for attacks in populated
urban areas,” he said. “We have also observed an alarming trend of children
being used by the group as human shields.”
Ms Kang described the
humanitarian needs arising from Boko Haram attacks, saying that more than 7,300
civilians had been killed by Boko Haram since the beginning of 2014 in the
three ‘state of emergency’ States, including 1,000 people this year alone.
As many as three
million people in northern Nigeria would not be able to meet their basic food needs
after July 2015 without humanitarian aid and the work of Federal and State
authorities was not enough to meet those needs.
“The humanitarian
situation in north-east Nigeria and in the conflict-affected areas in
neighbouring countries remains dire,” said Ms. Kang. “The conflict continues to
have a devastating impact on women, children and young people, as well as on
many others who have been traumatized by violence. Additional funding to
address the acute humanitarian needs of those affected by the conflict is
urgently needed.”
She said Boko Haram’s
activities had created tens of thousands of refugees, returnees and internally
displaced people in Chad, Cameroon and Niger, with schools and health services
badly affected, and frequent reports of gross human rights violations.
Mr. Chambas stressed
the issue of human rights abuses, pointing to evaluation missions launched by
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that visited
the Far North region of Cameroon and the Diffa region of Niger. Both found
human rights abuses, including indiscriminate killing of civilians, abductions
and forcible recruitment of civilians into combat.
Since Boko Haram
attacks in Diffa in February, Mr. Chambas said schools in the region remained
closed, depriving children of the right to be educated.
“The local economy in
the Diffa region is also being negatively affected by a continuing State of
Emergency,” he said. “In response to these and other concerns, the United
Nations is in the process of scaling up its presence and operations in Nigeria,
Niger and Cameroon.”
Mr. Chambas commended
the response of the Lake Chad Basin Commission countries, notably the joint
regional offensive, which involved troops from all four countries and which
resulted in the recapture of several key towns in north-east Nigeria.
“At the beginning of
the year, Boko Haram controlled some 20 local governmental districts in the
three north-eastern states in Nigeria,” he said. “Today, Boko Haram holds only
a few areas in Borno State. Moreover, according to reports by the Nigerian
Army, on 27 March, Boko Haram’s headquarters in Gwoza was captured.”
Stressing UN support
for such efforts, he underlined that counter-insurgency operations must be free
from human rights violations.
“This is not only an
absolutely vital principle, but also an effective strategy,” he said.
“Communities which believe that their Government seeks to protect them are far
more likely to cooperate with the authorities, and far less likely to support
insurgent groups.”
He also reiterated
the Secretary-General’s message that a military approach alone would not
suffice in containing the Boko Haram threat, and stressed the international
community’s obligation to help the countries of the region to address the
social, economic and political challenges associated with Boko Haram.
Both Mr. Chambas and
Ms Kang made reference to general elections that took place in Nigeria over the
previous weekend. Mr. Chambas said that the observation mission by the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had noted only “pockets of incidents
and logistical challenges,” with the elections passing the test as “free and
transparent.”
Ms.
Kang added that despite reports of suspected Boko Haram attacks in Yobe, Gombe
and Borno States, no additional humanitarian needs had so far emerged as a
result of the election.
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