ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 1 on the situation in Nigeria with regard to security The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Horsens (Denmark) from 28-30 May 2012, having regard to Article 18(2) of its Rules of Procedure, having regard to its previous resolutions, having regard to its previous resolutions on human rights violations in Nigeria, ACP-EU 101.170/fin having regard to its resolution on the situation in West Africa of 21 March 2001 and particularly the paragraphs concerning Nigeria, having regard to the statements by Vice-President/High Representative Ashton of 26 December 2011 on the Christmas Day bombings and of 22 January 2012 on the bombings in Kano, Nigeria, having regard to the statement by the UN Security Council of 27 December 2011 on the attacks in Nigeria, having regard to the Nigeria-EU Ministerial Meeting of 8 February 2012 in Abuja, having regard to the second revision of the Cotonou Agreement 2007-2013, ratified by Nigeria on 27 September 2010, having regard to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in particular its provisions on the protection of freedom of religion in its Chapter IV Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, ratified by Nigeria on 29 October 1993, having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights of 1981, ratified by Nigeria on 22 June 1983, having regard to the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of 1 Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 30 May 2012 in Horsens (Denmark)..
Discrimination based on Religion or Belief of 1981, having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, A. whereas the violence inflicted by the Boko Haram group, a radical Islamist group, has caused the death of several hundreds of innocent people, including Muslims, Christians and people of other religions; B. whereas the fundamentalist Islamic sect popularly called Boko Haram became prominent in 2009 in the wake of violent clashes between this shadowy group and the Nigerian police; C. whereas this sect is known to preach against what it perceives as the corrupting influence of Western education and to advocate the introduction of Sharia or Islamic law in the country; D. whereas this militant group is presumed to draw its membership largely from itinerant Quranic students (Almajirai), political thugs and other young people who have been led astray; E. whereas several recent reports indicate a possible connection between Boko Haram and Al- Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) and Al-Shabaab in Somalia, which could pose a serious threat to peace and security in the Sahel region and West Africa, as recent events in Mali have demonstrated; F. whereas the link with these terrorist groups and collaboration in logistics and training are considered to have been contributing factors in the deadly attacks launched by the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria ; G. whereas the length of Nigeria s borders poses a major security challenge and has made it difficult to control trafficking in small arms and light weapons over the years, as evidenced over the past decade by acts of armed banditry on the highways of North Eastern Nigeria committed by suspected former rebels from Chad and Niger; H. whereas Nigeria's political and ethnic stability has repercussions beyond its borders, owing to the country's leading role in the region and in sub-saharan Africa as a whole; I. whereas the Boko Haram crisis is currently the worst security challenge facing Nigeria, further compounded by the proliferation of small arms, particularly following the ousting of Gaddafi s regime in Libya; J. whereas freedom of religion, belief, conscience and thought is a fundamental and universal value, as well as an essential element of democracy; K. whereas, in response to the upsurge in violence, President Goodluck Jonathan, on 31 December 2011, declared a state of emergency in some northern Local Government Areas and temporarily closed borders with Chad, Cameroon and Niger; L. whereas the group suffered a major setback and went underground following the death of its leader and many followers are in the hands of the police; 2/5
M. whereas the militant sect regrouped and resurfaced in 2011 with deadly attacks against local politicians and security forces in the north-eastern part of the country and the atrocities quickly spread to many parts of Northern Nigeria; N. whereas Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks, including those on 20 January in Kano, where 185 people were killed, and for the 2011 Christmas Day church bombings that killed 40 people; O. whereas Boko Haram has set on fire more than a dozen schools in the north since last March; P. whereas sophisticated weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are increasingly deployed by the sect to cause mayhem and large-scale destruction of public and private property, triggering fear and panic among the population; Q. whereas human rights organisations have documented the involvement of Boko Haram in attacks on police stations, military facilities, security offices, mosques, churches, schools, and banks, as well as in a suicide bomb attack at the UN headquarters, which killed at least 24 people and injured over one hundred others; R. whereas suicide bombings, a new phenomenon in the country, are now frequent, with lethal consequences; S. whereas the death toll from the violence unleashed by the Boko Haram onslaught and the counter-measure operations by the Joint Security Task Force (JTF) has reached at least 1 500 to date; T. whereas unclaimed attacks have also taken place in Nigeria since the beginning of the year, adding to the climate of violence; U. whereas the security forces have so far not been able to stop the violent campaign of Boko Haram; V. whereas few prominent members of Boko Haram have been arrested and detained by security agencies; W. whereas the possibility of dialogue and negotiation between the Federal Government and the sect is being explored; X. whereas it is believed that Boko Haram is no longer a homogeneous group and this is now being exploited by criminal elements involved in bank robberies, kidnappings and political assassinations; Y. whereas most Nigerians are resolved to live together as one indivisible entity; Z. whereas there is no underlying conflict between Muslims and Christians in the country; AA.whereas, although Nigeria is one of the world's largest oil producers and exporters, approximately 60 per cent of the population lived on less than USD 1 per day in 2011; 3/5
whereas the endemic corruption, all-pervasive poverty and the absence of mechanisms for the redistribution of wealth are blamed for the general insecurity in the country and have created an environment for extremist groups to recruit unemployed youth, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts also implies fair access to resources and the fair redistribution of revenues; BB.whereas rising unemployment has made young people vulnerable to indoctrination, manipulation and recruitment by fundamentalist Islamic groups such as Boko Haram; CC.whereas Nigeria s national parliament, in acknowledgement of the threat to national security posed by violent insurgency, promulgated the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2011; DD.whereas national security received the largest ever amount of funding under the 2012 federal budget of Nigeria; EE.whereas, on 12 November 2009 the European Commission and the Federal government of Nigeria signed the Nigeria-EU Country Strategy Paper and the National Indicative Programme for 2008-2013, under which the EU will fund projects whose aims include the promotion of peace, security and human rights; 1. Strongly condemns the recent violence in particular the attacks carried out by the fundamentalist Islamic sect Boko Haram and the tragic loss of life in the affected regions of Nigeria, and expresses its condolences to the bereaved and sympathy to the injured; 2. Calls on the Boko Haram sect to lay down its arms in order to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue and negotiation with the Government; 3. Urges the Government urgently to disarm all persons and groups in illegal possession of firearms in the country; 4. Urges all communities to exercise restraint and seek peaceful means to resolve differences between religious and ethnic groups in Nigeria; 5. Reiterates its concern regarding the full and effective respect of the right to freedom of religion for all religious minorities in Nigeria; stresses in this context that freedom of worship is but one aspect of the right to freedom of religion, which includes also the freedom to change one's religion and to manifest it in teaching, practice and observance at the individual, collective, private, public and institutional level; 6. Encourages the government of Nigeria to step up its efforts to end the violence as quickly as possible, to guarantee the security and protection of its population and respect for human rights and to prevent by all possible means any further attacks, to continue to encourage inter-faith dialogue and to enhance freedom of thought, conscience and religion; acknowledges the need for the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) to intensify its efforts to promote inter-religious harmony, dialogue and peace; 7. Calls upon the authorities to continue to conduct an investigation into the causes of the most 4/5
recent violence and to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice in a fair and transparent manner; 8. Emphasises the importance of an independent, impartial and accessible judicial system to enhance respect for the rule of law and for the fundamental rights of the population; 9. Calls upon the Government of Nigeria to intensify the fight against corruption, poverty and inequality and to strengthen social, political and economic reforms that respect human rights, which also requires the fair and equitable distribution of resources and wealth; 10. Calls on donor agencies to join the Government of Nigeria in creating jobs for the very large number of unemployed young people in the country; 11. Welcomes the impending pilot project of the Nigerian Government to introduce in all schools, whatever their character, the basic educational elements of democracy, the rule of law, pluralism and tolerance; 12. Regrets the deaths of British citizen Chris McManus and Italian citizen Franco Lamolinara two engineers working for an Italian construction company who had been held hostage for 10 months in Northern Nigeria during a failed rescue attempt on 8 March 2012 and extends its condolences to their families; 13. Calls on the international community, particularly the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to support Nigeria in its efforts to address the threats of terrorism, the proliferation of light weapons and trans-border crimes by equipping and training the personnel of security agencies in effective intelligence gathering and in the fight against modern terrorism; 14. Acknowledges the collaboration with and support given by the European Union, the United States and other international actors to Nigeria in its determined efforts to fight terrorism; 15. Encourages greater regional cooperation for addressing the threat posed by a possible connection between Boko Haram and AQMI; encourages the countries in the region to deepen their cooperation, including through the relevant regional organisations, in order to prevent synergies between Boko Haram and AQMI, and to secure Nigeria's land and sea borders against infiltration by armed groups; calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to lend their support to these regional efforts; 16. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this Resolution to the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the African Union. 5/5