Deputy Secretary-General Urges Member-State Funding of $1.5 Billion Humanitarian Appeal for Lake Chad Basin, in Briefing to Security Council

Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s briefing to the Security Council on the Lake Chad Basin, in New York today:

I would like to thank the members of the Security Council for the warm welcome that I have had this morning.  It is truly humbling.  And also, I would like to congratulate the UK [United Kingdom] Chair for [assuming the Presidency of] the Security Council in March.

As the Deputy Secretary-General, as an African and as a Nigerian, I truly welcome the Council’s visit to the Lake Chad Basin to witness first hand the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency.  Even more so that, as a child, I grew up in Maiduguri and know that terrorists are not born but created by a set of circumstances.

The Security Council’s field visits around the world have been instrumental in highlighting the links between peace, development and human rights.

I thank you for the much-needed attention you have now brought to this troubled region.

The Lake Chad crisis provides a powerful illustration of the complex multidimensional challenges facing our modern world.  A successful response requires mobilizing our assets holistically to implement the 2030 Agenda and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN is focused on six main pillars of engagement:  political; humanitarian assistance; human rights; recovery and development; justice, law enforcement and the financing of terrorism; and technical support to the regional Multinational Joint Task Force.

Three other dimensions are being added:  gender; defections and surrenders by Boko Haram militants — and that has its own challenges given the number of youth and young girls; and support to Member States to develop a regional plan of action to prevent violent extremism.

It is essential that we address the Boko Haram crisis in a holistic manner.  This means looking beyond the security lens and addressing the root causes, including inequality, exclusion and the full array of economic, social, political, cultural and religious grievances.

To this end, the UN continues — through the efforts of Mr. [François Louncény] Fall and Mr. [Mohamed Ibn] Chambas, the Secretary-General’s Special Representatives for Central Africa and West Africa and the Sahel — to encourage Member States and the leadership of ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] and ECCAS [Economic Community of Central African States] to convene a joint summit on Boko Haram.

We and this Council are keenly aware of the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation which has displaced millions of people in the region.  Some 10.7 million people in the Lake Chad Basin need humanitarian assistance now.  More than 7 million require food support, including 515,000 children with severe acute malnutrition.  Drought is inevitable, and there is a real risk of famine, which can be averted with the urgent action that we need now.

WFP [World Food Programme] is reaching more than 1 million people in north-east Nigeria, and is expanding its efforts.  UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund] has assisted 4 million people with basic health care and safe water.  But, despite the considerable contribution of the recent Oslo Donor Conference, demands outstrip resources.

I urge Member States to ensure the $1.5 billion humanitarian appeal for the Lake Chad region is fully funded, and I implore affected Governments to ensure full, safe and unimpeded access to all affected areas and populations.  At the same time, we must pay attention to the need to better coordinate our responses and ensure that resources are used in the most efficient manner possible.  We must also close the gap between humanitarian assistance and development interventions.

Lasting recovery will entail supporting the reconstruction of schools, health centres, and reviving essential infrastructure, such as agriculture and water supplies, that support the necessary livelihoods.  Effective prevention of future radicalization and violence will also entail comprehensive responses that benefit all members of society, especially marginalized communities and youth.

I was in Bama just three weeks ago where we have one of the largest camps.  And to see how children were thriving with the opportunity of education — not in the right circumstances, but certainly that transition that UNICEF was able to provide was certainly a sign of hope and one that we need to invest in.

The situation in the four countries affected by Boko Haram continues to be defined by grave human rights abuses committed by Boko Haram and in the context of counter-terrorism actions.

In response, the UN is deploying additional human rights officers to collect information on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.  The UN is also assisting affected States to ensure their counter-terrorism efforts comply fully with international human rights, humanitarian and refugee laws.

There is a need to strengthen justice mechanisms and ensure due process for defectors and suspected terrorists.

In Niger and Chad, the UN has been able to facilitate the release of dozens of children suspected of being Boko Haram fighters and deliver them to child protection actors.  In Nigeria, the UN has been given access to detention facilities in Maiduguri to monitor the conditions under which women and children captured during military operations are being held.  Cameroon has also indicated an interest in cooperating with the UN on this issue.

The plight of women and girls associated with and affected by Boko Haram is of particular concern.  The UN and partners have provided care and support to approximately 6,000 women and children formerly associated with or captured by Boko Haram.

But many more are still displaced in camps, detained by the authorities, or are struggling to reintegrate into their communities, where many face stigma and discrimination.  Many are survivors of sexual violation, exploitation and abuse.  They need comprehensive assistance.

We also need to scale up efforts to provide access to sexual and reproductive health and psychosocial support and livelihood support for female-headed households.  We must also ensure that women have key roles in the response — from food distribution and camp management to all efforts to counter violent extremism, restore State authority and build peace.

This month is about women — it’s our women’s month.

It is fitting that the United Kingdom, which has championed the issue of women, peace and security in this Council for many years, holds the Council presidency.  But I want also to commend the Council as a whole.

In the past two months, you have heard from a female civil society leader from Nigeria — Fatima Askira from the Borno Women Development Initiative.

Your experts have met with senior UN leaders from the region in a dedicated meeting on women, peace and security in the Lake Chad Basin.  And during your mission this past week you met with female legislators, civil society leaders and the internally displaced.

Addressing the root causes of this crisis is necessary for durable peace in the region.  Let us also note that it will also help alleviate the phenomenon of mass migration to Europe by people who feel they have no choice but to look for better opportunities far from their homeland.

The UN development system is working on national and cross-border initiatives to support poverty reduction, capacity development, effective governance, natural resource management, early recovery, disaster risk reduction, social cohesion, peacebuilding and resilience.

One priority must be the regeneration of Lake Chad itself.  The Lake and its wetlands have now lost 90 per cent of their water due to unsustainable water management practices and climate change.

I commend the Lake Chad Basin countries’ commitment to the Lake’s regeneration, but the support of the international community will be essential.  I would also like to acknowledge at this point the support of the Chinese Government for their work on some of the feasibility studies needed for the recharge.

Your recent visit to the Lake Chad Basin has highlighted the urgency and complexity of the crisis faced by the region’s people, and the threat it poses to international peace and security.

My single clear message today is that the solution lies in holistic thinking.  The 2030 Agenda provides a blueprint and a tool for providing a better future for the people of the Lake Chad Basin.

A fundamental requirement for success — there and around the world is solidarity and partnership — a global partnership for sustainable development, especially in the most fragile contexts where people most need our solidarity and support as their right to a life of dignity.

To that end, I welcome the work being done by the World Bank in the Lake Chad Basin, as well as in Somalia, Yemen and South Sudan.  I would also like at this point to commend the commitment of the African Union and Africa’s regional organizations to peace, security and the integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Africa’s own Agenda 2063.

I sincerely believe your visit has boosted the potential for partnership and provided much-needed hope for the people of that region, and much-needed impetus for we in the UN system to gather all the assets that we have and to put them to much more efficient and effective use for the sake of those who deserve so much more attention than we have been able to give in the recent past.