Buhari wants UN to engage North Korea over nuclear crisis

.Urges halt to Myammar killings

 

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the United Nations to ensure a peaceful resolution of the North Korea nuclear crisis.

In his speech to the ongoing 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York, Buhari also urged the government of Myammar to halt what he said “from all indications is a state-backed programme of brutal depopulation of the Rohingya inhabited areas in Myanmar on the basis of ethnicity and religion.”

He proposed a strong UN delegation to urgently engage the North Korean leader.

The delegation, according to him, should be led by the Security Council, and should include members from all the regions.

The president praised the world’s “exemplary solidarity” in dealing with Boko Haram, but generally offered few remarks on Nigeria.

He said: “In an exemplary show of solidarity, the international community came together within my own region to assist the countries and communities in the Sahel and the Lake Chad regions to contain the threats posed by Al Qaida and Boko Haram.

“We thank the Security Council for visiting the countries of the Lake Chad Basin to assess the security situation and humanitarian needs and for pledging assistance to rebuild lives and livelihoods. Indeed, in Nigeria we are providing relief and humanitarian assistance to millions in camps and those afflicted by terrorism, drought, floods and other natural disasters.

“Our faith in democracy remains firm and unshaken. Our regional organisation ECOWAS came together to uphold democratic principles in The Gambia – as we had done previously in Cote d’Ivoire.

“This will require strong UN cooperation with regional organisations, such as the African Union, in conflict prevention and management. The UN should continue to take primary leadership of the maintenance of international peace and security by providing, in a predictable and sustainable manner, adequate funding and other enablers to regional initiatives and peacekeeping operations authorised by the Security Council.”

 

On the killings in Myanmar, he said: “The international community cannot remain silent and not condemn the horrendous suffering caused by what from all indications is a state-backed programme of brutal depopulation of the Rohingya inhabited areas in Myanmar on the bases of ethnicity and religion. We fully endorse the call by the Secretary-General on the Government of Myanmar to order a halt to the ongoing ethnic cleansing and ensure the safe return of the displaced Rohingya to their homes in safety and dignity.

“The most pressing threat to international peace and security today is the accelerated nuclear weapons development programme by North Korea. Since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, we have never come so close to the threat of nuclear war as we have now.

“All necessary pressure and diplomatic efforts must be brought to bear on North Korea to accept peaceful resolution of the crisis.”

 

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