MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Nigeria, recent attacks by Boko Haram
15.7.2014 - (2014/2729(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Cristian Dan Preda, Mariya Gabriel, Bogdan Brunon Wenta, Tunne Kelam, Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa, Seán Kelly, Petri Sarvamaa, Monica Luisa Macovei, Michèle Alliot-Marie, Philippe Juvin, Pavel Svoboda, Eduard Kukan, Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz, Andrej Plenković, Davor Ivo Stier, Franck Proust, Andrzej Grzyb on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0016/2014
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Nigeria,
- having regards to the statement by the HR/VP Catherine Ashton on Nigeria of 2 June 2013, 26 June 2013, 14 April 2014,
- having regard to the Council conclusions on abductions in Nigeria of 12 May 2014,
- having regard to the Statement by the EEAS Spokesperson on Nigeria of 26 June 2014,
- having regard to the statement by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Nigeria of 26 June 2014 and 30 June 2014
- having regard to the UN Secretary General’s Report on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), published on 1 July 2014,
- having regard to the Boko Haram, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al-Qaeda in Yemen declaration of 14 July 2014 on their support for the creation of the Islamic State of Levant (ISIS/ISIL),
- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
- having regard to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights of 1981, ratified by Nigeria on 22 June 1983,
- having regard to the second revision of the Cotonou Agreement 2007-2013, ratified by Nigeria on 27 September 2010,
- having regard to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and in particular its provisions on the protection of freedom of religion in its Chapter IV – Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,
- having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the Boko Haram is a growing thread for the stability of Nigeria, where security situation remains extremely difficult with the state of emergency declared and maintained since May 2013 over the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa;
B. whereas Boko Haram, which seeks to impose a strict form of Sharia, or Islamic law, has been attacking Nigeria's police and military, rival clerics, politicians, schools, religious buildings, public institutions, and civilians with increasing regularity since 2009;
C. whereas Boko Haram is blamed for at least 18 attacks on civilians in northern Nigeria in the past two weeks coupled with growing political tensions ahead of planned general elections in 2015;
D. whereas the escalating violence of the insurgency threatens the security of West Africa;
E. whereas, Boko Haram, who have their stronghold in the country’s northeast, has recently returned with violence to Abuja with the bombing of a bus station that killed nearly one hundred people in April 2014, and a bomb in a major shopping mall in central Abuja that left 21 dead in July 2014;
F. whereas some 270 schoolgirls were abducted on April 14-15, 2014 from a school in northeast Chibok town by Boko Haram, and whereas 219 still are missing, with over 60 escaping their perpetrators; whereas Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said he planned to "sell" the girls in the market;
G. Whereas on 8 July Nigeria's National Council of State promised to deliver "some good news" very soon about more than 200 schoolgirls held captive, urging the public to be patient as the government works to wipe out terrorism;
H. whereas In May 2014 Amnesty International revealed that Nigerian security forces failed to act on advance warnings about Boko Haram’s armed raid on the state-run boarding school in Chibok - knowing four hours of advance about the attack but did not do enough to stop it;
I. whereas Borno state governor Kashim Shettima said in February 2014 that Boko Haram is better armed and better motivated than state armed forces, which are capable of providing some security in major cities, but are ill-equipped for counter-insurgency campaigns,
J. whereas security officials in Nigeria and around the world are concerned that Boko Haram has splintered into two factions: one that is focused on local grievances and another that is seeking regional expansion,
K. whereas there are many root causes of Boko Haram's escalating violence: dispute over the 2011 election results, which led to more than eight hundred deaths, poverty with 70 percent of the population living on less than $1.25 a day, corruption, police brutality and extrajudicial killings, as well as impunity,
L. whereas in the name of ending Boko Haram’s threat to Nigeria’s citizens, government security forces killed hundreds of suspected members of the group and arrested hundreds of people during raids across the north while many of those detained were held incommunicado without charge or trial, in some cases in inhuman conditions, some were physically abused, others disappeared or died in detention; whereas these abuses in turn helped further fuel the group’s campaign of violence;
M. Whereas the UN estimates that 650,000 people have been displaced by the Boko Haram crisis; whereas such displacements put also a strain on meagre local food and water resources, especially in Niger, which itself struggles with food insecurity due to years of drought;
N. whereas in June 2014 the EU has swiftly transposed the UN decision to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization, covered by the freezing of funds and economic resources under EC Regulation No 881/2002 with (EU) Commission Implementing Regulation No 583/2014 of 28 May 2014;
1. Strongly condemns the recent violence, in particular the abduction of more than 270 school girls in north eastern Chibok, Borno state, and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the school girls and for those responsible to be brought to justice;
2. Calls on Nigerian government and authorities to work together to ensure the girls are brought home safely, to improve transparency about the rescue efforts and to provide adequate information as well as medical and psychological support to families of abducted girls in order to end the climate of suspicion;
3. Is concerned by the increasing frequency and spread of terrorist attacks, including those of last week on several villages in Borno state, in Abuja and Lagos. Expresses condolences to the families of the victims and calls for those responsible for these acts to be brought to justice;
4. Is of the opinion that Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) on grave violations of children's rights in situations of armed conflict should be activated in Nigeria and UNICEF should increase its capacity in this area, in line with its mandate;
5. Calls on the EU and its Member States to offer their support to Nigeria in the resolution of this despicable crime and its on-going efforts to protect its citizens and defeat terrorism in all its forms, in full respect of human rights;
6. Urges Nigerian political class to forge a unified stand in confronting the persisting insecurity; calls on the Federal Government to crack down on Boko Haram which is boosting its strength by exploiting deep-seated religious tension in Nigeria;
7. Reminds, however, that Government’s actions undertaken against Boko Haram should not lead to further fuelling of the violence; calls in this respect for a reform of the Nigerian state security forces, including police, and conducting investigations against those who are responsible for any human rights violations including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and extortion-related abuses;
8. Calls for improving efficiency and independence of Nigeria’s judiciary system as a mean of effective use of criminal justice to combat terrorism;
9. Underlines the importance of regional cooperation for addressing the threat posed by the connexion between Boko Haram and AQMI (Al Qaeda au Maghreb Islamique); encourages the countries in the region to deepen their cooperation, including through the relevant regional organisations, in order to prevent synergies between Boko Haram and AQMI; calls on the EU institutions and Member states to lend their support to these regional efforts;
10. Calls on the Federal Government to resolve the economic and social problems which affect the country with spiralling violence by taking several measures, such as by addressing government inefficiencies and corruption, mismanagement and embezzlement of the country’s vast oil wealth, widespread poverty, police abuse, and longstanding impunity for a range of crimes in order to provide the basis for a long term and lasting solutions;
11. Calls upon the Federal Government to protect its population and to address the root causes of the violence by ensuring equal rights to all citizens and no-discrimination legislation;
12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU Council and Commission, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the institutions of the African Union and of ECOWAS, the United Nations Secretary-General, the United Nations General Assembly, the Co-Presidents of the ACP EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the PAN-African Parliament (PAP).