WUNRN
PRESS RELEASE
Conclusions
of the Paris Summit for Security in Nigeria (17 May 2014)
The Heads of State of Benin, Cameroon, Chad, France, Niger and Nigeria, as well
as representatives of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United
States, participated on 17 May 2014 in a Summit in Paris dedicated to security
in Nigeria. This Summit has helped intensify regional and international
mobilization to combat the terrorism of the Boko Haram group.
The Summit concluded with several decisions that will strengthen cooperation
between regional States, both to enable the liberation of the abducted school
girls and more generally to combat Boko Haram. The partners present (the
European Union, France, the United States and the United Kingdom) are committed
to supporting this regional cooperation and strengthening the international
means to combat Boko Haram and protect victims. All these States reaffirm their
commitment to human rights and particularly the protection of girls who are
victims of violence and forced marriage or threatened with slavery.
- Regional Cooperation
Nigeria and its neighbours will build analysis and response capabilities that
will contribute to enhancing the security of all populations and the rule of
law in the areas affected by Boko Haram’s terrorist acts.
To combat the Boko Haram threat, which has recently manifested itself through
several murderous attacks and the abduction of more than 270 school girls,
Nigeria and its neighbours have decided to immediately:
1. On a bilateral basis
- Implement coordinated patrols with the aim of combating Boko Haram and
locating the missing school girls
- Establish a system to pool intelligence in order to support this operation
- Establish mechanisms for information exchange on trafficking of weapons and
bolster measures to secure weapons stockpiles
- Establish mechanisms for border surveillance;
2. On a multilateral basis
- Establish an intelligence pooling unit
- Create a dedicated team to identify means of implementation and draw up,
during a second phase, a regional counter-terrorism strategy in the framework
of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
This approach is consistent with the 2012 Summit of the Lake Chad Basin
Commission. The United States, the United Kingdom, France and the European
Union will coordinate their support for this regional cooperation through
technical expertise, training programmes and support for border-area management
programmes.
- Efforts at international level:
The participants commit to accelerating the implementation of international
sanctions against Boko Haram, Ansaru and their main leaders, within the United
Nations framework as a priority.
- Mobilization to support marginalized areas and their fragile populations,
and particularly women exposed to violence
The P3 and the EU pledge to mobilize donors in support of programmes fostering
the socio-economic development of the regions concerned, with particular
emphasis on gender equality, the rights of women and girls and in particular
their right to education, increasing women's participation in all
decision-making processes, and supporting victims of sexual violence, including
through legal assistance, medical care and psychosocial support. The EU will
dedicate a certain number of its programmes to these aspects and will
strengthen its efforts to combat radicalization.
The participants agreed that the United Kingdom would host a follow-up meeting
next month at Ministerial level to review progress on this action plan.
Distributed by APO (African Press Organization).
SOURCE
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