US embassy cable - 04ABUJA167

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000167 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DRL/CRA FOR SOLANGE GARVEY 
DRL/PHD FOR PATRICK HARVEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, ELAB, KDEM, NI 
SUBJECT: SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY: NIGERIA 
 
REF: 03 STATE 333935 
 
1. The following is Mission Nigeria's submission for the 
2003-4 edition of the Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: 
the U.S. Record. 
 
Begin text.  Nigeria held multiparty general elections in 
2003, the second since the end of military rule in 1998, 
returning President Obasanjo to another four-year term 
despite allegations of electoral misconduct.  Nigeria remains 
"Africa's essential country, with influence far beyond its 
borders."  The United States remains a key partner for 
Nigeria's reformers, and we have helped Nigeria reach a 
number of human rights milestones despite ongoing major 
problems.  Years of authoritarian misrule diminished or 
destroyed most national institutions, and corruption has 
rotted the civil service and most parastatals.  Nigeria is 
beset by religious and ethnic divisions, all too often 
violent, and its Government sometimes has been as much a part 
of the problems as of the solutions.  Our major priorities 
have been: to assist consolidation of democracy and 
improvements in its effectiveness and transparency; to 
strengthen civil society participation in governance 
processes; to work closely with the government and civil 
society to improve their ability to monitor, manage and 
prevent human rights abuses nationwide and communal conflict 
in areas of known ethnic or religious tension; and to reduce 
and remedy trafficking in persons. 
 
During this election year, the Embassy has been a staunch 
advocate of democratic processes and reforms inside and 
outside the Nigerian government.  The Embassy has reported on 
numerous human rights abuses committed by security forces, 
and helped human rights organizations and the media more 
effectively play their roles in democracy.  INL continued its 
train-the-trainers program on police reform with three 4-week 
programs to improve the professionalism, responsibility and 
performance of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).  Human rights, 
including such topics as excessive use of force and 
extrajudicial killings, were a major focus.  INL also managed 
a 6-month program for 500 new NPF recruits, that included 
training on Human Rights and Law Enforcement, Community 
Policing, and the proper use of force. 
 
The Embassy has worked long and hard to help Nigeria improve 
the professionalism of its military, the military's respect 
for human rights, and all Nigerians' appreciation and support 
for civilian rule.  Congress has put sanctions on military 
aid to Nigeria, a loss of over 6.8 million dollars, in 
response to the massacre of approximately 200 civilians in 
Benue State in 2001 by the Nigerian army.  Secretary Powell 
and Assistant Secretary Kansteiner added personal demarches 
this year to a continuing Embassy campaign of pressing the 
Nigerian Government to hold a proper and honest 
investigation, and to punish the responsible parties.  The 
Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) sponsored a Defense 
Institute of International Legal Studies seminar for Nigerian 
military and civilian leaders with a focus on human rights, 
international law, rules of engagement and civilian control 
of the military.  ODC continued to sponsor a high-level 
program at the Ministry of Defense (MOD), to teach proper 
civil-military relations and assist in the reorganization of 
the MOD. 
 
The Embassy has worked with civil society, political parties 
and the media in an effort to strengthen democracy and the 
rule of law.  The Embassy itself played an active observer 
role at the political party conventions, at all levels of the 
elections in multiple states, and at tribunals looking into 
allegations of election fraud.  We provided training to civil 
society and gave speeches in numerous fora to encourage it to 
play more effective roles in policy advocacy and government 
oversight.  We worked with political parties to widen the 
participation of the general public, particularly women, in 
the political process.  We also assisted government 
officials, political and social leaders to understand the 
issues underlying violent conflicts in their areas, and to 
formulate strategies to resolve the conflicts. 
 
USAID committed $3 million to improving governance in 2003. 
One focus was to strengthen the Independent National 
Electoral Commission (INEC), professionalize political 
parties, and train polling agents and election monitors.  A 
National Information Center was established for civil society 
to transmit "real time" data from nearly 12,000 domestic 
monitors.  USAID also funded Islamic women's groups to serve 
as election monitors for the first time, with more than 1800 
monitors.  Aid to State Assemblies trained staff in technical 
and procedural matters; 56 new pieces of legislation were 
passed nationwide for legislative management, implementing 
constitutional requirements, and improving core development 
issues such as infrastructure, social services, conflict 
mitigation and security.  USAID-trained legislative 
associates (interns) were embedded in State Assemblies, and 
the National Assembly assumed management of its USG-funded 
computer resources center.  The Embassy's Public Affairs 
Section made two Funds for Civic Education program grants for 
public education in democratization and civil rights. 
 
The Embassy is expanding its efforts to make rule of law more 
effective, working with Nigerian courts to improve case 
management and judicial ethics, and building the 
investigative capacity and independence of Nigerian 
government agencies charged with investigating corruption and 
monitoring procurement.  USAID committed $1.25 million in 
judicial strengthening activities to improve management and 
dissemination of court information, codify judicial ethics, 
and expand public access to justice through Alternative 
Dispute Resolution (ADR).  Nigeria's second multi-purpose ADR 
Center in Abuja will offer civil mediation and arbitration 
services.  We helped Chief Judges in pilot state 
jurisdictions create new bar/bench management committees that 
helped produce timely and accurate judicial reports, shorten 
the time between litigation, settlement and final 
disposition, and reduce the number of appeals based upon 
recording inaccuracies.  Judges from three pilot 
jurisdictions unanimously ratified a "Code of Conduct for its 
Court Employees," requiring employees to be accountable for 
resources; protect confidential information; avoid the 
appearance of impropriety; refrain from using their position 
for personal enrichment; and, uphold high standards of 
behavior. 
 
The Embassy funded several Democracy and Human Rights Fund 
(DHRF) projects to encourage respect for the rights of women. 
 In the North, we worked with a local NGO to create radio 
programs promoting the empowerment and education of Muslim 
women.  We also sponsored a televised docudrama aired 
nationwide to educate viewers about the problem of domestic 
violence.  We continued working with a domestic NGO to 
educate policymakers in three states on introducing 
legislation for the eradication of female genital mutilation. 
 The Public Affairs Section's International Visitors Program, 
with input from several different sections of the Mission, 
sent representatives from Nigeria's civil society, government 
and media to a wide range of U.S. programs, notably conflict 
resolution, NGO management, empowerment of women, trafficking 
issues, and Islam in America. 
 
The Embassy worked extensively on the problem of 
inter-religious violence and religious freedom, meeting with 
national and local political and religious leaders on 
multiple occasions to gain a better understanding of the 
problems and to advocate resolution.  Embassy officers gave 
speeches across the country calling for reconciliation, and 
travelled extensively to work with state officials and Muslim 
and Christian leaders on promoting peace and ending 
discrimination.  USAID committed $1.044 million to support a 
range of conflict management and peace-building activities, 
including sponsoring a Christian Pastor and Islamic Imam from 
Kaduna at a peace-building course at the School of 
International Training in Vermont in 2003.  The two leaders 
then trained members of the Kaduna Peace Committee, and USAID 
paid for radio and television programs where the Pastor and 
Imam could discuss conflict issues in Kaduna and Kano.  In 
2004 the Pastor and Imam received the prestigious Common 
Ground Award from the well known NGO, Search for Common 
Ground, in recognition of the success of their peacemaking 
efforts. 
 
Elsewhere in Nigeria, USAID's "Basketball for Peace" Program 
engaged unemployed and out-of-school Muslim and Christian 
youth in basketball tournaments to create competition without 
violence, a program which gained national attention. 
Concerns about the implementation of new laws based on 
Shari'a (Islamic justice) in several Nigerian states led 
USAID partners to establish the Shari'a Stakeholders 
Consultative Group.  The Group served as both rule of law 
advocate and information source in the landmark Amina Lawal 
adultery/capital crime case.  USAID and the Embassy have 
funded various programs to help bring peace to the oil-rich 
Niger delta, where inter-communal violence has killed dozens 
and displaced thousands of Nigerians. 
 
Finally, the Embassy has taken a very active role in helping 
Nigeria combat trafficking in persons, including a $2.3 
million commitment from the State Department.  The Department 
of Justice provided another $350,000 from its International 
Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) 
and Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and 
Training (OPDAT) program to train prosecutors, law 
enforcement, and judicial officials -- training which also 
forwards our rule of law and anti-corruption interests.  An 
additional $500,000 from ESF supports two rehabilitation 
shelters for victims of trafficking.  The Department of Labor 
provided financial backing for the International Labor 
Organization's "Program to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor," and USAID committed Development Assistance to 
anti-trafficking programs.  USG officials traveled to Nigeria 
in 2003 to help raise public awareness, meet with government 
officials, law enforcement, and NGOs.  The Embassy's Public 
Affairs Section published magazine articles on trafficking in 
women and children, and held a televised discussion forum on 
Trafficking in Persons with officials of the Human Rights 
Commission, the Police Service Commission, human rights 
advocacy groups, the Federation of International Women 
Lawyers, national legislators, and journalists. End text. 
Roberts