Joint declaration by the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development on the current situation in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 21 May 2014

The German Bundestag’s Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development,

• considering that the current abduction of more than 200
  girls and young women is one of a distressing series of
  deplorable human-rights violations in north-eastern
  Nigeria;
• considering that the United Nations Security Council
  condemned the actions of  Boko Haram on 9 May 2014,
  describing them as a threat to the stability of West and
  Central Africa;
• considering that the approach taken by the Nigerian
  security forces in the states of Borno, Yobe and
  Adamawa since the declaration of a state of emergency
  in 2013, as well as the endemic corruption in Nigeria,
  have been criticised as exacerbating the conflict;
• considering that the escalation of the past two months,
  in particular, has so far caused 311,000 people to flee,
  according to UNHCR figures;
• considering that any reaction to the current situation
  must take into consideration the underlying causes of
  the conflict, above all poverty, inequality and youth 
  unemployment;

1. condemns in the strongest terms the abduction of
    more than 200 girls and young women from a school in
    Chibok in the Nigerian state of Borno by the Boko
    Haram group;
2. condemns the brutal actions of the Boko Haram
    group   as an unacceptable human-rights violation and
    demands the immediate release of the young women
    and girls;
3. expresses its deepest sympathy to the families of the
    abducted young women and girls, and to all affected
    by the conflict in north-eastern Nigeria;
4. welcomes the international community’s immense
    concern and willingness to contribute to a solution to
    the conflict;
5. appeals to the Federal Government and the
    international community to work towards giving
    prospects to young people, in particular, in northern
    Nigeria through investment in jobs, education and
    measures to tackle energy poverty, and in this
    way to address the underlying causes of the conflict;
6. appeals, furthermore, to the international community to
    press the Nigerian government to ensure the genuine
    and continuous involvement of Nigerian civil
    society, in order to strengthen the peace-builders in
    society.