Nigeria At UN General Assembly: The Responsibilities, The Challenges
By Oghogho Obayuwana
"The United Nations was not created to take humanity to heaven but to save it from hell."
THE above quote by Dag Hammarskjšld, former Secretary-General of the global organisation and 1961 Nobel peace prize winner is displayed in the main hallway of the United Nations (UN) secretariat in New York.
Certainly, the maintenance of international peace and security and the battle against climate change featured prominently in this year's 64th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as part of concerted efforts to save humanity from hell.
It is a huge and complex setting that goes by the name-UN. Established in October 1945, the 192-member organisation has about 40,000 staff. There are currently no fewer than 16 peacekeeping operations while its budget for 2009 runs into $4.171 billion (peacekeeping operations not included), while maintaining six official languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Work at the various committee levels would be on till December this year, to be followed by the usual recap. But some critical resolutions had been taken. Much also had been achieved including, from our own point of view, Nigeria's election into the UN Security Council (UNSC) as one of its non-permanent members.
As always the case, the committees - Disarmament and International Security (1st), Economic and Financial Social (2nd), Humanitarian and Cultural (3rd), Special, Political and Decolonisation (4th) Administrative and Budgetary (5th) and Legal (6th) - are still having their hands full. A spurt of resolutions decided on will be out this week in the popular UN Journal.
When this year's summit business began, the newly elected UN General Assembly president, Libya's Ali Treki, had pledged his "utmost" efforts to give sustained leadership to reforming the world organisation. Treki, a former Libyan ambassador to the United Nations, took over from Nicaragua's Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a former Sandinista foreign minister in the 1980s and a Maryknoll priest. The post rotates among the world's five regions.
Like his predecessors, Treki wants to reform the UN Security Council and the Assembly to reflect what he calls the 21st century realities. But the one-year tenure of the presidency may be a short period to overhaul programmes, which require the agreement of all members.
When the Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon gave his 74-page Report on the Work of the Organisation, support by the United Nations system of the efforts of governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies, featured. And this would be of interest to followers of democracy in Africa.
On September 7, there was a general debate on all disarmament and international security agenda items as well a groundwork on delivering results for people most in need.
Apart from the Security Council's discussion of the Middle East and the controversial 575-page "Goldstone Report", there was also the issue of the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.
The UN scribe's report also covered areas such as the Peace Building Fund, cooperation between the United Nations and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation as well as the burning issue of financing the activities arising from Security Council resolution 1863 (2009),164. Report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country.
Other issues included administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations and financing of the United Nations operations in Burundi, C™te d'Ivoire. Peace peeping force in Cyprus, and the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Georgia. Financing of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, Interim administration Mission in Kosovo, Mission in Liberia. UN peacekeeping forces in the Middle East (a) United Nations Disengagement Observer Force; (b) United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan; Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara; United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad and observer status for the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission in the General Assembly. The observer status for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the observer status for the International Olympic Committee and another observer status for the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region of Africa in the General Assembly.
PRECEDING the Secretary-General's report were a series of presentations by members known as the General Debates holding in the General Assembly Hall where each row has six seats shared by two countries. The United States, always at the centre of attraction, shares a row with the United Republic of Tanzania, while Nigeria on the right middle column, pairs up with Norway.
It was a hot Thursday debate with China, Sweden, Egypt and Malaysia leading the way. The permanent Representative of Brazil to the UN, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, maintained that there is a relationship between disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, noting that it was quite unfortunate that up till October 6, human rights appeals globally had not been fully met.
Belarus' Andrei Dapkiunas harped on the need to keep up the fight against nuclear weapons proliferation. Guatemala took the same position.
Thailand's Don Pramudwinai spoke on behalf of the Association of (10) South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) trying to draw attention to the UN committees that have been hit the hardest by inadequate supply of funds.
Japan focused on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), stressing that "all means available must be mobilised to achieve the Goals by 2015."
The Japanese Permanent Representative, Yulio Takasu, raised other concerns in noting that "peacekeeping work is over-stretching our capacities. Japan supports the fight by the Secretary-General of climate change, and the 25 percent of reduction of emissions by 2020 that has been announced."
Cuba's Nadieska Naadieska Navarro Barro blamed the lack of political will by most leaders of the developed world who ought to continue providing new development resources.
While Senegal's voice was barely audible, Indonesia stressed the need to make the UN more democratic and "coherent".
It was India's Hardeep Singh Puri, however, that made a strong commitment to what it is known best in contributions to the UN - peacekeeping. Stressing that the country was happy with current efforts aimed at keeping the peace even though global governance structure needed to be restructured, Puri said:
"There has to be greater access to technology by developing countries. Today, the UN has neither the resources nor capacity to do better in peacekeeping. But mother India will do better in global peacekeeping partnership."
Addressing the second committee of the UN General Assembly, which deals on economic and financial matters, Nigeria's Permanent Representative, Professor Joy Ogwu, insisted that the outcome of the Conference on cushions for the adverse effects on the World Financial Crisis held in June this year (the process of which is still ongoing) provided "the most comprehensive and inclusive framework and measures to address the root causes of the crisis."
Thumping up what she called the relentless effort of the Secretary-General and the UN system in seeking lasting solutions to the food crisis, particularly in the direction of attaining global food security, Ogwu said:
"For us in Africa, a successful implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), aimed at addressing issues of agricultural growth, rural development and food security on the continent is an irreversible commitment. We therefore call on the international community to support Africa's efforts to achieve the goal of a green revolution within the shortest time possible."
BEFORE the General Debates set in, Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe, had during the opening session reserved for world leaders, called on developed nations to support the recommendations of the UN Conference on World Financial and Economic Crises, which was held at the UN Headquarters in June.
On behalf of President Umaru Yar'Adua, he said as the world approached the count-down to 2015, a convergence of many factors including the global economic crisis was threatening not only the actualisation of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals, but also the substantial gains already made.
He opined that it was Nigeria's interest that the international community acted fast so that "the goal of lifting the vast majority of humanity out of extreme poverty, hunger and disease as envisioned under the MDGs would not remain an illusion."
Nigeria then declared its commitment as well as that of other African countries to the Roll-Back Malaria programme in the determined bid to eliminate the ailment, which remains the biggest killer disease for children under five years old in Africa.
Maduekwe announced the intention of Nigeria to hold the Abuja-Plus Ten Summit on Roll-Back Malaria in 2011, calling for the support of the UN Secretary-General for the cause.
At the committee level, Nigeria also made an appreciable contribution. The African Group in the Security Committee of the General Assembly led by Nigeria demanded the ratification by member-States of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as a way of advancing the cause of the global war against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Concerns were raised by the African Group, including Nigeria, on the fact that while resources for aid development assistance continues to plummet, military expenditure is escalating. That World military expenditure, which stood at $780 billion at the beginning of this decade, has risen to $1.464 trillion, a 4-percent increase in real terms since 2007 and representing a 45-percent increase since 1999.
In separate presentations first on behalf of the Africa Group by a minister at Nigeria's permanent mission, Lawrence Olufemi Obisakin; the African Group also formally announced the entry into force, of the African Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone treaty also known as the Treaty of Pelindaba. It also reiterating its support for the concept of internationally recognised nuclear-weapon-free Zones established on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among States of the regions concerned.
Mr. Obisakin told the committee: "The African Group calls on all States to take appropriate measures to prevent any dumping of nuclear, chemical and radioactive wastes that would infringe on the integrity of States. The group also calls for the effective implementation of the International Atomic Energy Agency Code of Practice on the international Trans-boundary Movement of Radioactive Waste as means of enhancing the protection of all States from dumping of radioactive wastes on their territories."
Speaking strictly for Nigeria, also at the first committee, Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador Bukun-Olu Onemola reaffirmed the belief of the Nigerian delegation in multi-lateralism as the core principle for addressing issues of disarmament and international security. Nigeria will continue to abide by its commitments under the various disarmament and arms control agreements to which the country is party.
Nigeria, he noted, "will continue to work with other nations in promoting disarmament and nonproliferation in all their aspects... We maintain that the call for nonproliferation must be complemented by concrete action in the area of nuclear disarmament as a most effective way of ensuring that weapons do not fall into the hands of non-State actors. It is in this regard that all member-States should intensify their commitment toward the ratification of CTBT in particular through adherence by the remaining Annex 11 States whose ratification is also mandatory for the treaty to enter into force."
THE question of the reform of the UNSC was always going to be the high point for Nigeria, which started her campaign for a non-permanent seat at the Council with a meeting and briefing over dinner with delegates and ambassadors of Island states at the topmost floor of Galleria apartments, New York.
With this seat gained alongside Gabon for Africa and three other countries - Brazil, Bosnia and Lebanon for the 2010-2011 mandate, all new five will take their seats on the 15-member Council on January 1, replacing Costa Rica, Libya, Uganda, Vietnam and Croatia that will complete their two-year mandate on December 31.
With 186 votes secured in an Assembly of 192 nations, diplomatic watchers have submitted that the mandate should allow the country to throw its full weight behind the onerous task of realistically addressing the twin problems of conflicts and instability in the West African sub-region, including the Niger Delta.
The country had previously served three terms - 1966-1967, 1978-1979 and 1994-1995 train.
During his visit to Nigeria in June this year, UN Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe, said the international community was in reckoning of Nigeria's long standing leadership role in the continent, and indicated willingness to help the country in countering threats to security in West Africa.
The global body expressed a strong desire to help beyond the issuance of resolutions, in the multifaceted efforts to curb the burgeoning rate of conflicts in West Africa, which regional bloc (ECOWAS) is coincidentally chaired by Nigeria.
Somehow, allowing the non-permanent Seats to happen appears to have taken all shine now. In the beginning, there was a demand for a permanent seat for an African nation with the veto, Africa, being the only continent that lacked such representation at the elite UN body. Nigeria led this campaign vigorously, drawing strength from the proposal for a reform of the UNSC by former Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. And alongside the Group of four Nations (G4) - Germany, Brazil, India and Japan - it agitated for a permanent membership. The Seats that had been grabbed now really represent a step down from what was originally sought for 15 years!
When the "step down" first gained ground in the dying days of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in a foreign policy machinery then manned by Ambassador Olu Adeniji as foreign minister, a virulent Egyptian propaganda made the rounds that Nigeria had sold out Africa's position as enshrined in the Ezulwini consensus (reached in February 2006) and endorsed by the leaders in their Libyan summit in Sirte for Africa to insist on two permanent (with a veto) and five non-permanent seats.
In fact, the arrowhead of the Egyptian attack then, foreign minister, Aboul Gheit, also threatened that the Nigerian "sell out" would lead to a major diplomatic fracas at an extraordinary summit of the AU that was expected then but never held.
In the end, flexibility, greater realism and the need not to push a stale prestige led to the current position. That is why also scholars have already opined that the shift of ground, necessitating the breakup of the backbone of the earlier African position, had to do with the deluge of complaints by the permanent five members.
Today's "Real politick" - UNSC seats for Nigeria and Africa - therefore should be seen in the light of the penetrating fact that Africa would have gained entrance to the inner caucus of the UN. It does not call for any freaky celebrations. It is that Africa now has more numbers in that privileged chamber instead of the existing rotating three.
After all, the veto has become less an instrument of resort by members of the P5 since the end of the Cold War. Indeed, in the last 12 years, we have not had any except when the US used it on the Middle East debacle. With the abolition of apartheid, veto in the hands of African States will invariably be more of a matter of prestige than of necessity!
