YouSaid · the spoken record

Nagarajan

lines on the record
15
first
2018-03-22
most recent
2018-03-22
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “A few weeks ago, I met a young former member of the Jamaah Ansharusy Syariah. She joined the group to make society better. She told me that she thought society would have improved while she was away but when she returned, she saw that society had become worse. Looking back 15 to 20 years ago, we can see the genesis of where we are today. For most people, circumstances have greatly deteriorated. The question is: Did the previous situation lead to the current conflict and crisis? Is the current situation is worse than the previous one and, if so, what does that mean for the future? I urge the members of the Security Council to take action now so as to prevent the current conflict dynamics from becoming the root causes of future conflicts.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  2. “The United Nations, donors and affected States must ensure that every cypher, naira, euro, pound and dollar spent in the region from now on is context-sensitive and covers climate, conflict, gender and social inclusion and that the impact of interventions against those factors is monitored. For example, a livelihoods programme must look at future rainfall trajectories to see which crops would remain viable in future. If it supports the polder system in Chad, it must consider who will and will not have access to the increased areas of fertile land that would bring about and how that would play into existing tensions. Otherwise, interventions will not lead to sustainable change and improvement in the lives of the people in the Lake Chad basin region. Even worse than a bad situation is hope for change only for the optimism to turn to ashes.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  3. “The Council needs more systematic reports that are conflict-, climate- and gender-sensitive from the Secretariat, including on root causes and conflict drivers, as well as more regular situational briefings to ensure that the Council is attuned to changing conflict dynamics in a volatile region. Secondly, we need proper analysis on which to base policy and programme decisions. There may be humanitarian needs assessments that are sufficient for the humanitarian community, but proper integrated analysis that links conflict, climate, gender and social inclusion is lacking. That does not mean we should do nothing while awaiting the analysis, but we must ensure that inspections are meaningful, do no harm and are responsive to the situation. That brings me to my third and final point.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  4. “The third scenario is that intercommunal tensions, coupled with reprisal attacks and decreased access to resources, as people are living in increasingly crowded spaces, lead to the formation of identity- based community militias, thereby resulting in clashes and violence. Let us also remember the upcoming elections to be held in Cameroon in October and in Nigeria in February 2019. It is important that political constestations do not affect and are not affected by those unknowns. What are therefore the pathways to peace? First of all, the crisis is not over. Unfortunately, humanitarian needs continue. Funding and support for humanitarian action are essential. We must also pay attention to current conflict dynamics and trajectories. The Lake Chad region needs to be on the Security Council's agenda.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  5. “First, the group headed by Shekau may be defeated, but the group headed by Abu Al-Barnawi may grow stronger and more difficult to combat because avoiding civilian harm means that it might be able to retain its own fighters and also ensure more strategic relations with the local populations. The second scenario is that community militias, owing to incomplete and ineffective processes of disarmament, demobilization, repatriation and reintegration, form the next phase of the conflict, whereby engaging in criminality escalates into sustained violence against civilian populations and, perhaps, the State.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  6. “However, civilian harm continues, thereby increasing unhappiness and frustration with the State. There are also issues concerning community militias originally set up to protect civilian populations. In Nigeria, there are increasing concerns about the yan gora, or Civilian Joint Task Force, in particular. People say that they intimidate, settle scores, trade drugs, extort, steal, divert aid and sexually harass, exploit and abuse. People are worried that that increasing politicization, electoral mobilization, levels of criminality and the number gangs will lead to a new conflict phase. Although we hope that peace will return soon, I will now outline for the Council three ways in which the conflict might further develop.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  7. “Moreover, we know that corruption and inequality are root causes of conflict, and people believe that those have worsened. Providing security is also problematic. Military action or inaction has caused harm to civilians through, first, failure to protect communities from violence; secondly, failure to prevent collateral damage during operations; and, thirdly, the direct targeting of civilians with human rights abuses. I do not underestimate the scale of challenges facing the militaries of the region, and we have seen some positive developments. For example, in Nigeria a national policy on civilian protection is currently awaiting President Buhari's signature, and the military is trying to further institutionalize civilian protection and harm mitigation into their training.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  8. “For example, together with Mohammed Bila, I was in Baga Sola in Chad two weeks ago. There, Nigerian fishermen feel discriminated against with regard to access to information and services as they cannot speak the local languages. Those tensions are unfortunately exacerbated by humanitarian assistance as it is seen as benefiting only IDPs despite the violence affecting everyone. The fourth dynamic concerns governance and providing security. The region has long suffered from weak Government and certain State services or their absence, which has been worsened by the conflict. There is also dissatisfaction with community leaders. Before the crisis, they were viewed at times as politicized and corrupt, and they are now increasingly seen as diverting aid for themselves and their families.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  9. “They are unable to escape violence and struggle to cope when they are displaced. Unknown numbers of people have also acquired disabilities because of the violence. Their experiences have led many to struggle with their trauma. What does that mean for the long-term when many men are missing, thereby leaving the women to cope without them; when many women have suffered violence and trauma; and when all children and young people have either taken part in or experienced violence? The third dynamic that I will talk about concerns tensions among internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, returnees and host communities. The people of the region have been extraordinarily generous in sheltering and assisting those displaced, which began long before the humanitarian community showed up. With time, that dynamic has given rise to some tensions.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  10. “They are viewed with suspicion, arrested and detained by security agencies, and they are involved in fighting, thereby leaving women of all ages, as well as girls, younger boys and older men, struggling to cope. At the same time, with the increasing level of crime directed against women and girls, from their abduction from schools, which we have seen in international headlines to their use as human detonative explosives or so-called suicide bombers. We also see higher levels of early and forced marriage either to fighters or due to familial pressures owing to a lack of resources, sexual exploitation, abuse and violence, including by those who are supposed to protect and not exploit them, and survival sex. People with disabilities are also disproportionately affected.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  11. “That, as well as agricultural burning of the vaster region, has not only a current impact on protection and security, but also entails future ramifications related to soil degradation, desertification, agricultural livelihoods and the availability of wood for smoking fish. There have been no clear empirical links made between those changes and recruitment into armed opposition groups, but those impacts on livelihoods and increasing inequality are natural incentives to join such groups, while they are happening in the same space. There may well be a link. The second dynamic that I will talk about is the gendered nature of violence. Men and older boys are often the first to flee insecure areas. They are deliberately targeted, killed and forcibly recruited by armed groups.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  12. “The conflict among and within the groups of farmers, pastoralists, fishermen and hunters has been exacerbated by a decrease in arable land. Planting crops on grazing routes and areas, changing movements of pastoralists, changing rainfall patterns affecting crop yields and cattle health, military restrictions, security concerns and an insufficiency of land and water result in an increase of population density owing to displacement. Moreover the conflict has led to increased ethnic and social tensions because of the economic impact in all four countries. Thirdly, firewood collection by civilians and the cutting down of trees by the military are increasing deforestation.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  13. “We are seeing, above all, decreased resilience owing to conflict and climate. In December 2017, one Nigerian farmer told me how he used to farm by relying on the rainy season, the lake or a stream for irrigation in any given year. He said that if any one of them were insufficient in any given year, that was okay, as all three disasters would not occur at the same time. However, he said that now, owing to the crisis, every avenue to develop oneself economically has been destroyed. One does not have the money, and even if one did and failed - which is likely because of the lack of rainfall, security restrictions and Boko Haram - one cannot do the others. Virtually all economic activities have collapsed. Secondly, we also see tensions among and within occupational groups.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  14. “The first revolves around environmental and climate factors. The problem is not the alleged shrinking ofLake Chad, but rather, as just presented by my colleague, Mohammed Bila, increased variability. Lake Chad has fluctuated throughout history. Communities adapt to the changes, although, recently, coping mechanisms have been tested. The issue is rather that ofthe governance of and access to natural resources, the impact of insecurity and increased climate variability. Farmers with whom I spoke complained of the impacts of changing lake levels and increased rainfall variability, and said that that causes their inability to plant properly, lower or no crop yields, and insects that do not die because there is no rain. Pastoralists have had to change grazing routes. Fishermen talk of changing amounts of fish in water bodies.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source

  15. “Ms. Nagarajan: I thank the Kingdom of the Netherlands for inviting me to participate in this briefing as its presides over the Council this month. I also thank my fellow briefers, Deputy Secretary- General Amina Mohammed and Mr. Mohammed Bila of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. This year marks 15 years since the start of the violence we identify with armed groups in Lake Chad region. I will focus my briefing on current conflict dynamics, potential trajectories and the need to prevent the root causes of future conflicts. I was born and lived in Maiduguri. I have been working on conflict analysis, human rights, peacebuilding and protection for the past 12 years. I will talk about the region as a whole, but given my background I will draw a great deal on Nigeria. I will talk about four sets of dynamics.”

    2018-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8212 (2018) · source