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Nigeria

Statement for the UPR of Nigeria

Arms Trade and Industry | Explosive Weapons | Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Date/month:
1 November 2013
Document type:
Statement
Body submitted to:
Universal Periodic Review
Adoption of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Bill

The Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill was drafted as a response to concerns about the consistent failure of Nigerian authorities to adopt and implement a legal framework to address and prevent sexual violence. The aim of the bill is to eliminate the occurrence of gender- based violence in Nigeria. The bill has been rejected twice in the past year. It has been passed by the House of Representatives, and is waiting to be passed by the Senate.

WILPF therefore suggests the following recommendation for the UPR of Nigeria:

  • That the Violence Against Person’s Prohibition (VAPP) Bill is passed by the Senate.
Support to victims of acts of gender-based violence

Violence against women is rising in Nigeria with the Police reporting in 2011 that only 28% of rape cases were reported. The proliferation of small arms in Nigeria has facilitated violence against women and human rights abuses against women. During Nigeria’s first UPR in 2009, the Human Rights Council recommended Nigeria to pass laws to protect women and stressed the need for an effective legal and justice system, responsive to women’s needs and that secures access to justice.

WILPF therefore suggests the following recommendations for the UPR of Nigeria:

  • To create and implement an effective legal aid programme to increase women’s access to justice through the provision of support before, during and after trial.
  • To apply a multisectoral approach in providing holistic services to survivors of violence against women and girls that ensures effective delivery of services including medical, psychological, psycho-social, trauma rehabilitation, economic empowerment and legal services to women who need them in pursuing justice to end impunity.
National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325

National Action Plans on the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR1325) are effective tools for realizing the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda through national coordination. We welcome the launch of Nigeria’s National Action Plan in August 2013. However, we stress the importance of allocating funds to effectively implement it.

WILPF therefore suggests the following recommendation for the UPR of Nigeria:

  • Allocate special funds to fast track the process of implementing a national Action Plan on SCR 1325.
Control of arms trade

Arms flows have a destabilizing effect on conflict regions. The proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) fuels armed groups and promotes sexual violence and insecurity. The resulting insecurity also compromises women’s capacity to participate to public life and reveals threats to human security and violations of human rights. The proliferation of SALW in Nigeria is very high, it is estimated that over 70% of illicit weapons in West Africa are located in Nigeria. For this reason, we welcome the ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) by Nigeria on 12 August 2013. Nigeria is the only African country that has signed and ratified this treaty. Taking into cognisance the important role Nigeria has been playing on this matter, it is pertinent that she demonstrates clear leadership on arms control in the region.

WILPF therefore suggests the following recommendations for the UPR of Nigeria:

  • Adopt a strict control of small arms to ensure that they are not used to commit or facilitate a violation of international humanitarian law or human rights, including acts of gender-based violence, as mandated by the Arms Trade Treaty.
  • Domesticate all ratified treaties on small arms control, including the Arms Trade Treaty and the ECOWAS Convention on small arms, and put in place a National Commission on small arms control.
Explosive weapons

According to recent studies by Action on Armed Violence, Nigeria is the fifth most violent State in the world in terms of explosive violence. In 2011 alone, 55 recorded explosive incidents took place, with 857 recorded casualties, 90% of which were deemed to be civilians. In addition to causing major direct harm to its victims, explosive violence also causes great harms indirectly, severely destroying infrastructure and aggravating existing human rights violations.

In the words of Annakiya, a Nigerian woman who was herself the victim of a major bomb blast in Abuja: “When we are always talking about women being caught up in these insurgencies and explosions and conflict, we need concrete data to discuss it intelligently on a factual basis. For example, hospitals can be approached for data on injuries suffered due to explosive weapons, disaggregated by sex.”

WILPF therefore suggests the following recommendation for the UPR of Nigeria:

  • Develop policies that will effectively protect the population from being harmed by the use of any type of explosive weapons in populated areas, including investigating and prosecuting such use of explosive weapons, providing redress and assistance to victims of explosive weapons, and collecting and providing data on the use of explosive weapons in Nigeria disaggregated by sex and age group, as well as weapon type used.

Contact us:

María Muñoz Maraver, WILPF International: mmunoz(a)wilpf.ch or rights(a)wilpf.ch

Joy Onyesoh, WILPF Nigeria: dzoious(a)yahoo.com

Review document in english

Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

A woman in a blue, black, and white dress smiles radiantly in front of a leafy green background.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.