UN experts denounce death threats targeting Igbo in northern Nigeria
An ultimatum telling Nigeria’s Igbo minority in the North of
the country to flee their homes is of “grave concern,” a group of United
Nations human rights experts, has warned.
The experts also deplored a hate song and audio message
being circulated on the internet and on social media.
The Hausa-language audio message urges northern Nigerians to
destroy the property of Igbo people and kill anyone who refuses to leave by October
1, the same date given in the ultimatum.
“We are gravely concerned about this proliferation of hate
messages and incitement to violence against the Igbo and their property,
especially considering the previous history of such violence,” the experts
said.
“The Government must be vigilant, as hate speech and
incitement can endanger social cohesion and threaten peace by deepening the
existing tensions between Nigeria’s ethnic communities.”
The ultimatum was issued on June 6, 2017 during a press
briefing by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum in the city of Kaduna. It called
for sustained and coordinated campaigns to remove the Igbo population from the
northern region.
The human rights experts noted that some local and national
figures, as well as some media representatives, had publicly denounced any form
of hate speech and incitement, but said other officials still needed to follow
suit.
“We are deeply concerned that some prominent local leaders
and elders have not condemned the ultimatum, hate speech and the perpetrators,”
the experts stressed.
“We call on the Government, media and civil society
representatives, and local and religious leaders, to reject and condemn hate
speech and incitement to violence unequivocally and in the strongest possible
terms.”
The UN experts said any incidents of hate speech and
incitement to violence had to be investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted
and punished. “This includes the people behind the ultimatum and those
responsible for the creation, publication and circulation of the hate song and
audio message,” they added.
The experts are Mr.
Mutuma Ruteere, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; Mr. Fernand de Varennes,
Special Rapporteur on minority issues, and Ms. Anastasia Crickley, Chairperson
of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special
Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of
independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the
Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address
either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the
world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN
staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any
government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
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