The United Kingdom (UK) has expressed happiness at the unanimous adoption of the first resolution by the UN Security Council, addressing Boko Haram presence in the Lake Chad Basin.
The Permanent Representative of UK to the UN, Amb. Matthew Rycroft, said there has been a significant focus on the Boko Haram crisis in the Lake Chad Basin region during the UK’s Presidency of the Security Council.
He was speaking after the Council adopted a resolution on the report of its mission to countries affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
” I am very proud to say that through our Presidency of the Security Council, we have put the focus on all four of those.
“We cannot get the figures to you, but I am confident that the international community is beginning to rise to the challenge of ensuring that we get the donations in early,” Rycroft said in his remarks at the Security Council.
He said the refugee question was central to the visit to all four countries.
“I think that in each place we have the opportunity to say how important it is to the host governments and others to ensure that any returns of refuges are done in a voluntary way and done in a safe way and done in cooperation with the governments of the region.
“In fact the day that we arrived in Cameroon was the day after Cameroon and Nigeria had reached agreement with each other and with the United Nations on a tri-partite agreement for that very purpose,” he said.
Rycroft commended the unanimous adoption of the resolution, saying it marked the commencement of another chapter of work on the Lake Chad Basin region.
“The adoption of that resolution marks the start of the next chapter of our work on the Lake Chad Basin following the visit the Security Council took to the region at the very start of our Presidency.
“The resolution calls upon countries in the region, and the international community and the UN to scale up urgently our response to the humanitarian crisis. We must all act now if famine is to be avoided.
“The resolution also supports the regional governments to lead a comprehensive and effective response to the crisis.
“That means addressing the root causes of the crisis by addressing economic inequalities, countering violent extremism, and empowering women.
“We must also commend and support the countries in the region on their efforts to combat Boko Haram, including through the Multi National Joint Task Force.”
The UK envoy, however, said all parties and all countries, must comply with human rights provisions, especially during counter-terrorism operations, and called for the deployment of UN human rights officers to help in this regard.
“Finally on this resolution, we must also bridge the divide between short-term humanitarian and longer term development work.
“The UK is leading by example in this area; we were one of the earliest contributors to the response.
“We are supporting the regional governments; and we are expanding our development programming even as humanitarian aid continues to be delivered,” he said. (NAN)
