Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-13-Speech-2-285"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060613.27.2-285"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
The Commission attaches great importance to the rights of freedom of religion, belief and expression in its dialogues with third countries.
Since the first Niger Delta crisis in November 2004, regular visits of the EU Heads of Mission have been organised to various areas: the Niger Delta, some northern states and some middle-belt states. While one of the focal sectors of EU development cooperation with Nigeria is supporting and promoting good governance at federal and state level, the Commission is also engaged in financing Community projects in the Niger Delta and is about to approve a project to support non-state actors. Moreover, the EC budget lines have for years been financing projects to promote democracy and human rights.
Freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief is one of the fundamental human rights and, as such, is enshrined in a number of international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. In addition, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights makes clear that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and that cultural, religious and linguistic diversity should be respected.
Respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law underpins the Cotonou Partnership signed by the ACP States and the Community and its Member States. Article 8 of the agreement indicates the topics on which regular political dialogues should focus, referring specifically to ethnic, religious and racial discrimination.
There is no state religion in Nigeria. In 1999, the Constitution provided for freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the federal government generally respects those freedoms.
The Constitution also prohibits state and local government from adopting an official religion. However, state governors have great autonomy and it is alleged that Islam has been adopted de facto as a state religion in several northern states.
The return of Nigeria to democracy in 1999 has seen an improvement in the human rights situation, but it has also seen an increase in tensions and violent conflicts, which currently provide the most threatening challenges to the new democratic Nigeria.
In this complex and unstable situation, the Commission has been trying to identify the most common causes of conflicts with the objective of helping to address and prevent them. Conflicts and violence have historically marked relationships between Muslims and Christians, particularly in the central states, where communities of different religions are numerically equivalent. It is generally not possible to cast Muslims or Christians systematically in the role of aggressor or victim, as they have historically been both. It is apparent, however, that conflicts always involve extremely poor people and that conflicts presented as religiously motivated are often triggered by other causes, including conflicts between traditional rulers, land and resource struggles amongst communities, political in-fighting, and tensions between state and federal governments.
The significance of the tension between indigenes and non-indigenes is crucial to understanding the frequent cause of conflicts in Nigeria. A recent report by Human Rights Watch, 'They do not own this place', blames the federal government policies that discriminate amongst non-indigenes, defined as people who, no matter how long they have lived in an area, cannot trace their origins to the ethnic and genealogical roots of the original inhabitants of that area. In a country with more than 250 ethnic groups, these discriminatory practices spreading at state and local government level have relegated millions of Nigerians to the status of second-class citizens, increased poverty and created the conditions for intercommunal violence.
According to Father George Ehusani, secretary-general of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, interviewed by Human Rights Watch, 'poverty in Nigeria has assumed the moral character of war and that is what you see reflected in much of the ethnic violence in this country'. The Commission and the EU Member States are engaged in regular dialogue in Nigeria to promote respect for human rights, basic freedoms and the rule of law among communities, religious and ethnic groups, state and federal authorities."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples