The UN excludes Niger from the General Assembly: A perfidious act by the head of the UN denounced by the military junta
With the UN General Assembly underway, Niger was excluded from the speakers’ program on the final day. This exclusion follows a series of events that highlighted tensions between the military regime in power in Niger and the UN secretariat.
It all started when the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of the coup government, Yaou Sangaré Bakary, was able to enter the United Nations thanks to his badge as Niger’s ambassador to the UN. However, the next day, his badge was deactivated and he was barred from entering the building. A similar situation occurred for another minister of the military regime, that of Health.
The ruling junta immediately pointed the finger at UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, denouncing “treacherous actions”. According to her, the head of the UN acts in agreement with the “complicity of France and two ECOWAS heads of state”. In other words, the military regime accuses the UN of obstruction and bias against the legitimate government.
However, the UN hides behind its strict rules in the event of regime change through a coup d’état. According to these rules, the UN only recognizes the legitimacy of a government on the advice of the Security Council. However, the Council previously indicated that Bazoum’s government was the only legitimate one, leading to the obligation for the UN to deactivate Ambassador Bakary’s badge and to refuse access to the building to the ministers of the military regime.
This conflict clearly highlighted the tensions between Niger’s military power and the UN. It also raises questions about the balance between respecting UN rules and the need to deal with political realities on the ground.
It is essential to note that this incident comes at a time when Niger is facing many challenges, including the fight against terrorism and the humanitarian crisis. In such a delicate context, it is crucial that all parties involved show leadership and find ways to cooperate to resolve the problems facing the country.
Hopefully, tensions between Niger’s military junta and the UN can be eased to enable constructive cooperation and find solutions to the challenges that arise. The situation remains to be closely monitored as it could have implications both for Niger and for the UN as an international institution.