UN chief asks for Niger’s constitutional order to be restored

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, demanded on Friday that the democratically elected leaders of Niger, who were imprisoned during the coup in July, be freed immediately.

In a statement, Türk pleaded with the generals to reestablish constitutional order right away.

However, the UN rights director raised serious worries for the Niger population.

“Over the years, the people have already endured a great deal of misery. The very people they chose to create a path out of poverty have now been forcibly removed, he claimed.

Concerns were also expressed by Türk on the Niger military’s recently announced decision to charge President Mohamed Bazoum and those associated with him with high treason.

“This decision has no legal support since it disregards the typical operation of democratic institutions and is politically motivated against a president who was duly elected.

“Niger’s very idea of independence is in jeopardy. Generals are not allowed to arbitrarily disregard the will of the people.

“Rule-by-gun has no place in today’s world,” declared the High Commissioner.

The statement comes as the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) urged the quick creation of a humanitarian corridor out of Niger for migrants who have become stranded there.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in the area, Stefano Savi, repeated this demand.

He demanded that the border be reopened so that more urgently required humanitarian staff members and supplies may be allowed to fulfil the growing requirements.

He insisted that vaccines left behind at humanitarian hubs must be allowed in.

The immunisations are ready and waiting for the airspace to reopen. “Those vaccines, as you may know, are necessary to carry out vaccination campaigns,” he stated.

In the first half of 2023, Niger was a stop for more than 60,000 migrants.

In its shelters, where thousands of migrants were housed as many waited to return home, the IOM claimed that recent border and airspace closures had caused overcrowding.

The NGO claims that departures for more than 1,000 migrants, mostly from Mali and the Republic of Guinea, were cancelled or delayed over the course of ten days.

Around 1,800 migrants are currently waiting outside IOM transit centres, which house 5,000 individuals at seven strategically located transit hubs along migration routes.

Speaking on behalf of the UN human rights office (OHCHR), Ravina Shamdasani stated that Niger was one of the world’s poorest nations, with millions depending on humanitarian aid and nearly half of the population making less than $2.15 per day.

She regretted that the coup had resulted in “even more misery” for the people of the country, leading to border restrictions, trade disruptions, and an increase in food prices.

According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), more than three million people experienced chronic food insecurity before President Bazoum was kidnapped by some of his soldiers on July 26. Additionally, nearly half of all children under five were chronically malnourished.

A representative for OHCHR reaffirmed Türk’s demand for “full and free access for humanitarian assistance to allow critical food, medical, and other relief supplies into the country.”

Shamdasani added that the “very worrying” crackdown on civic space in Niger was having an effect on the right to free speech and the right to assemble in public.

This includes claims of intimidation against journalists and restrictions on foreign media organisations.

The Niger putsch was the sixth in the region in the previous three years, she added, pointing to a “deeply troubling” trend of recent illegitimate changes in government by armed forces across West Africa. (NAN