Nigeria, 2011

On behalf of the

Government and people of Nigeria, I would like to

congratulate the President on his election as the

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth

session. I have no doubt that under his able leadership

the work of the session will be brought to a successful

conclusion. I should also like to acknowledge the

excellent work done by his predecessor, His Excellency

Mr. Joseph Deiss, who guided the affairs of the sixty-

fifth session with consummate skill and commitment.

I must also take this opportunity to extend my

warmest felicitations to Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon on his well-deserved re-election, a tribute to

his leadership and vision. He deserves our appreciation

for the good work he is doing on our behalf.

I also welcome the newest member of the

Organization, the Republic of South Sudan. I am

confident that South Sudan will bring a unique

perspective to the work of the United Nations and

enrich our collective experience.

Despite our initial optimism, the peace dividend

we had hoped would accrue following the end of the

Cold War is yet to materialize. On the contrary, the

world of the twenty-first century in which we live is

becoming ever more precarious, unpredictable and

certainly more dangerous — perhaps more than at any

other time in history. The increasing use of terror in

various regions of the world as a form of political

action poses a serious threat to international peace and

security. We must win the war against terror because it

infringes on the fundamental right of all peoples to life

and to live in safety from fear.

Over the past few months, we in Nigeria have

faced an upsurge in terrorist attacks in parts of our

country. Only recently, the United Nations building in

Abuja housing several United Nations agencies was the

target of an atrocious terrorist attack that left several

dead. On behalf of the Government and people of

Nigeria, I would like to convey my sincere

condolences to the families of the victims and to the

entire United Nations family for this barbaric and

heinous attack on those who have dedicated their lives

to helping others. As the United States and the rest of

the world commemorate the tenth anniversary of the

attacks of 9/11, we are reminded of the international

11-50692 44

dimension of terrorism and the imperative of a

concerted global response to combat this scourge.

For us in Nigeria, terrorist acts, rather than

intimidating us, will only help to strengthen our

resolve to develop appropriate national strategies and

to collaborate even more closely with the international

community in the fight against this menace. As part of

Nigeria’s efforts to fight terrorism, on 3 June, I signed

into law a terrorism bill and an anti-money-laundering

prohibition amendment act. The new laws not only

outline measures for preventing and combating acts of

terrorism, but also prohibit the financing of terrorism

and laundering of the proceeds of crime. Nigeria will

continue to work with the United Nations and other

partners in this global fight.

To that end, Nigeria is working closely with the

Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force and the

Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, as well as

with relevant international bodies and friendly

countries, in order to sharpen our response

mechanisms. In that connection, the Counter-Terrorism

Implementation Task Force will launch its first project

in Abuja in November, which will be aimed at

preventing conflict and countering the appeal of

terrorism to youth through education and dialogue. In

addition, Nigeria is a member of a new global body, the

Global Counterterrorism Forum, launched to galvanize

and help pull our efforts together to fight this scourge

in all its ramifications. We pledge to continue to work

with all stakeholders as we enlarge and intensify our

partnerships.

When I stood before the Assembly last year, I

made a solemn pledge that Nigeria would conduct free

and credible elections in the second quarter of this

year. I am glad to report that last April we indeed

conducted what have been adjudged to be credible and

transparent general elections. Let me take this

opportunity to thank the United Nations and all the

other organizations, nations and individuals that helped

us to achieve that feat. The elections are now behind

us, and the Government that I head is well on course to

implement our programmes of transformation — a

strategic plan for the delivery of the dividends of

democracy to citizens and for preparing our country for

the challenges of the future. Indeed, all across my

country, there is a renewed sense of optimism and self-

belief in our ability to recreate a new Nigeria on the

principles of personal freedoms, democracy, good

governance and the rule of law.

Permit me to identify with the theme of this

year’s debate of engaging the role of mediation in the

peaceful resolution of conflicts in the world. The

Assembly will recall that Nigeria was in the forefront

of the campaign to promote this theme when, as the

President of the Security Council in July 2010, my

country adopted the use of preventive diplomacy to

resolve armed conflicts across the world. This theme is

apt and could not have come at a better time, when

armed conflicts are increasingly taking a greater part of

the time and resources of the United Nations.

For too long, the international community has

focused too little attention on mediation and preventive

diplomacy, and far too much effort and resources on

the military aspects of peace and security. Yet measures

to address the root cause of conflict, including dialogue

and mediation, can be far more effective as a means for

achieving sustainable peace and stability.

I believe that cultivating peace and fulfilling the

aims of Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter

require early identification and appropriate

intervention in conflict situations in order to build

confidence and trust and to preclude the eruption of

violence between opposing parties. As I see it, our goal

should always be to present the peaceful alternative as

a less costly and effective way of achieving political

and social objectives. I also believe that, in addition to

other traditional tools of preventive diplomacy,

democracy and good governance can be particularly

important in building a just, equitable and inclusive

society. By focusing on mediation as a tool for conflict

prevention, we are able to address the real triggers of

conflict, without which we cannot achieve sustainable

solutions.

However, for the world to move from a culture of

response after conflict to that of a culture of

prevention, the international community must muster

the political will to promote preventive diplomacy, in

particular through mediation. This will necessarily

entail rededicating greater human and financial

resources to institutions and mechanisms that already

exist, within and outside the United Nations system,

for conflict prevention and resolution.

Going forward, I would like to propose the

establishment, under the Secretary-General’s Office, of

a conflict mediation commission, to be charged, among

other things, with collating information on conflict

situations across the world, identifying the dramatis

45 11-50692

personae and developing appropriate strategies for

initiating the resolution of such conflicts. The

commission would also develop rules of engagement,

including sanctions that would apply to those who may

obstruct efforts to resolve conflicts peacefully.

This naturally brings me to the issue of

trafficking in small arms and light weapons. If the idea

of resolving conflicts through mediation is to succeed,

then the problem of trafficking in small arms and light

weapons must be frontally tackled. The proliferation of

small arms and light weapons is particularly

worrisome, due to their easy accessibility and

availability to unauthorized persons and groups, who in

turn have used these arms to create instability and

insecurity in most of the countries of the developing

world. Even worse, the proliferation of these weapons

has proved handy in the hands of terrorists.

This explains our commitment to, and

preoccupation with, the actualization of an arms trade

treaty that robustly addresses the illicit trade in small

arms and light weapons, which, as we all know, are

among the major causes of destabilization and conflict

in Africa. The danger of the proliferation of, and illicit

trade in, small arms and light weapons informed

Nigeria’s decision to sponsor resolution 61/89, of 2006,

the principal objective being to provide a legally

binding international instrument for the trade in

conventional arms. We will continue to support all

initiatives towards the realization of an arms trade

treaty in 2012. I call on all Member States to join in

this endeavour.

The increasing rate of piracy and other maritime

crimes, with their attendant damaging effects on

security, trade and economic activities in the Gulf of

Guinea and other locations, calls for coordinated

regional and global approaches. In this respect, I would

like to express support for the proposal of the

Secretary-General to deploy a United Nations

assessment mission to study the situation in the Gulf of

Guinea and explore possible options for United

Nations support and action. Our expectation is that a

positive outcome from such a strategy will benefit not

only our subregion but the larger international

community as well. I am already consulting with other

leaders in our subregion to boost this initiative.

The United Nations strategy for gender equality

and women’s empowerment, especially through the

creation of UN-Women, deserves commendation and

support. Nigeria’s support for UN-Women, to which

we have made substantial contributions, reflects our

desire to harness the potential of women in the task of

nation-building.

Our national action plan on gender equality and

women’s empowerment places strong emphasis on

women’s effective participation in politics and

adequate representation in public office. I am indeed

proud to announce to the Assembly that more than

30 per cent of my Cabinet is made up of women. Let

me also commend the Executive Board of UN-Women

on the successful take-off of the entity. UN-Women can

be assured of Nigeria’s strong support.

This year, the prevention of non-communicable

diseases was one of the issues slated for discussion at a

High-level Meeting. Only three months ago, I attended

the High-level Meeting on AIDS, where I pledged

Nigeria’s commitment to health care, as part of our

country’s human capital development agenda. My

Government is intensifying efforts to improve national

health-care delivery by allocating substantial resources

to primary health care. We look forward to a

productive outcome to the High-level Meeting on the

Prevention and Control of Non-communicable

Diseases at the end of that meeting.

In the same vein, I welcome discussions at the

High-level Meeting on desertification and land

degradation, as these issues continue to pose

challenges to our development efforts. That is why

Nigeria strongly supports the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change and the

Convention on Biological Diversity, including

strategies and best practices to address this challenge.

In order to demonstrate our commitment to

human rights, Nigeria recently ratified the Convention

on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and acceded

to four other international human rights instruments,

including the Optional Protocol to the Convention

against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment.

In addition, this year, my Government passed into

law the National Human Rights Commission

Amendment Act, the Legal Aid Council Amendment

Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Nigeria will

continue to accord the highest priority to human rights

issues, as they speak directly to the dignity and

inalienable rights of humankind.

11-50692 46

We in West Africa are passing through an exciting

season of democratic rebirth. Before the end of 2011,

elections will have been held in six countries in West

Africa. Those elections will set the respective countries

along the path of political stability, progress, good

governance and sustainable development — some of

the benefits of which we have begun to experience.

The progress we have made would not have been

possible without the support of the United Nations.

The resolution of the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire is a

case in point. I consider the inauguration of President

Ouattara a success not just for Côte d’Ivoire but also

for the international community, which spoke with one

voice and acted in concert in support of the Ivorian

people. The end of that crisis must be seen by all as the

beginning of our journey towards the consolidation of

democratic culture and good governance in Africa.

Having put that crisis behind us, the international

community must now provide robust assistance to the

country as it embarks on the tasks of post-conflict

reconstruction and national reconciliation.

The struggle for self-governance and majority

rule in Africa started in the 1940s; and by 1957 Ghana

had gained independence. Today, all African States

have achieved self-determination and majority rule.

Those are no small achievements. But we still have

much work to do. A great deal of the work that remains

is to build viable and capable States in Africa on the

principles of popular participation, the rule of law and

respect for human rights, as we pledged to do in the

Constitutive Act of the African Union. Nigeria believes

that those values must remain at the core of governance

in Africa if we are ever to achieve the goals of stability,

security and development.

As Nigeria is approaching the end of its tenure on

the Security Council, I would like to express my

country’s deep appreciation for the opportunity to serve

in that important organ. In the course of our

stewardship, the Council had the courage to reach

many difficult decisions that resulted in positive

developments around the world. We are proud to be

associated with those decisions. I would like to urge

the Council to continue its important work in the

maintenance of international peace and security.

In spite of the Council’s many successes, it is our

belief that that important organ would benefit from the

vigour and fresh perspectives that only a revamped

Council accommodating changing global political

realities can provide. I urge the President of the

General Assembly to set up clear criteria for the reform

of the Security Council in line with the demand of the

majority of the world. A reformed Security Council is

the only way to demonstrate that all nations have an

equal stake in the United Nations. Nigeria looks

forward to the prospect of membership in a reformed

Security Council.