{"id":46175,"date":"2016-02-03T17:30:28","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T16:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=46175"},"modified":"2016-02-03T17:30:28","modified_gmt":"2016-02-03T16:30:28","slug":"president-buhari-assures-eu-of-commitment-to-protection-of-human-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/president-buhari-assures-eu-of-commitment-to-protection-of-human-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"President Buhari Assures EU of Commitment to Protection of Human Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday<\/span><\/span> in Strasbourg, France, assured the
\nEuropean Union that his administration was doing its utmost best to
\nprotect the fundamental human rights of persons in the theatre of
\noperations against Boko Haram.<\/p>\n

Addressing a special session of the parliament, President Buhari said that
\nhis government shared the European Union’s commitment to peace and
\nsecurity, respect for human rights, democracy and good governance,
\nequality and tolerance, as ways of developing prosperous and strong
\nsocieties.<\/p>\n

“For our part, we have updated our rules of engagement in fighting
\nterrorism and pay very close attention during operations to the treatment
\nof captured terrorists, civilians caught up in the conflict and in
\ngeneral, safeguarding property.<\/p>\n

“Our aim is to use minimum force necessary in our fight against
\nterrorists,” President Buhari assured members of the parliament and the
\nEuropean Union Commission.<\/p>\n

The President also spoke of Nigeria’s concerns about the Economic
\nPartnership Agreement between the European Union, African, Caribbean and
\nPacific Group of States (ACP), collectively endorsed by the Economic
\nCommunity of West African States.<\/p>\n

He said that Nigeria was yet to sign the agreement because pertinent
\ntechnical issues raised by the Federal Government have not been
\nsatisfactorily addressed.<\/p>\n

“Giving due consideration to the mismatch of the two regions
\n(Europe-ECOWAS) in terms of technology and manufacturing experience, the
\nManufacturers Association of Nigeria and Associated Trade Unions raised
\nconcerns over the negative impact of the agreement on Nigeria\u2019s
\nindustrialisation programme.<\/p>\n

“Nigeria is working towards addressing her own side of the issues and I
\ntherefore urge our European Union partners to also address our own
\nconcerns to allow for an Economic Partnership Agreement that is mutually
\nbeneficial and can contribute to the prosperity of our people, in the
\ncontext of our shared values and interest at promoting cordial bilateral
\ntrade relations,” President Buhari said.<\/p>\n

The President also sought greater support from the European Union for
\nNigeria’s efforts to curb the theft of its crude oil and corruption in its
\noil and gas sector.<\/p>\n

“Nigeria is facing the challenges of oil-theft and illegal bunkering in
\nthe Niger Delta as well as recovery of illicit funds.\u00a0 \u00a0In this regard,
\nNigeria solicits the cooperation of the European Parliament to support the
\nefforts aimed at stemming these vices.<\/p>\n

“Our attempt to restore security, curb corruption and fight crime will
\nresult not only in improving social stability in Nigeria but will re-open
\nthe doors for full economic relations with Europe and the rest of the
\nworld.<\/p>\n

“Those who wish to invest in our country have immense opportunities and we
\nintend to guarantee the security of people and investments brought to
\nNigeria,” President Buhari said.<\/p>\n

He assured the parliament that Nigeria will collaborate with the European
\nUnion to address illegal migration to Europe.<\/p>\n

Our Government is making concerted efforts to address the push-factor that
\npropel migration, especially from Nigeria, as both destination and transit
\ncountry.<\/p>\n

“In this year\u2019s budget, the Government has provided for over Five-Hundred
\nThousand graduate employment in the teaching profession alone. We are
\nequally collaborating with the States and Local Governments, to strengthen
\nSkills Acquisition Centres, in order to train the teeming youth in various
\nvocational skills, so that they can be self-employed, and eventually,
\nbecome employers of labour.<\/p>\n

“We are also making efforts to diversify the economy, giving impetus to
\nagriculture and solid minerals exploitation, to create wealth and
\nemployments.<\/p>\n

“Nigeria welcomes the outcome of the Valletta EU-Africa Summit on
\nMigration, including the launching of 1.8 billion Euros Emergency Trust
\nFund to address the root causes of migration from Africa to Europe.<\/p>\n

“Nigeria will work with the countries of the Sahel and Central Africa, to
\nsubmit to the Board of the Emergency Trust Fund, our identified projects
\nfor funding in due course.<\/p>\n

“The Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM), which Nigeria was the
\nfirst African country to sign on 12th March 2015,\u00a0 is a demonstration of
\nthe positive spirit of our cooperation with the European Union in the
\nfield of migration and development.<\/p>\n

“It is in the light of this understanding that I wish to propose the
\nreciprocal visa waivers for holders of Nigerian Diplomatic and Official
\nPassports attending official Meetings and Conferences in Europe,” the
\nPresident said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, assured the European Union that his administration was doing its utmost best to protect the fundamental human rights of persons in the theatre…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Buhari Assures EU of Commitment to Protection of Human Rights - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/president-buhari-assures-eu-of-commitment-to-protection-of-human-rights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Buhari Assures EU of Commitment to Protection of Human Rights - 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