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Agence France-Presse

The United Nations on Friday slammed the generals who have seized power in Niger on “a whim” and plunged the country further into misery, demanding that constitutional order be immediately restored.
“The very notion of freedoms in Niger is at stake,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
“Generals cannot take it upon themselves to defy – at a whim – the will of the people,” he said. “Rule-by-gun has no place in today’s world.”
His comments came after last month’s coup toppled Niger’s democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum.
Bazoum, 63, was detained on July 26 by members of the presidential guard, in the fifth coup to hit Niger since independence from France in 1960.
Senior US diplomat meets with Niger coup leaders, had ‘difficult’ talks
Landlocked Niger has thus joined neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso to become the third Sahel country in three years to experience coups.
Turk highlighted that Niger was already one of the poorest countries in the world, with nearly half of the population “mired in extreme poverty”.
He warned that the coup was further worsening the situation, with borders closed, trade at a standstill and severe power cuts and rising food prices, and called for “full and free access for humanitarian assistance”.
Turk lamented that “the very people who they elected to build a pathway to end their destitution have been removed by force against the constitutional order and detained by the coup leaders,” he said.
“They must be released at once, and democracy restored.”

Turk raised concerns about the announced decision by coup leaders to prosecute Bazoum.
“This decision is not only politically motivated against a democratically elected president but has no legal basis as the normal functioning of democratic institutions have been cast aside,” he said.
He also described “a clampdown on civic space”, pointing to allegations of intimidation against journalists and bans on international media outlets, as “very worrying”.


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Africa

UN rights chief slams Niger coup: ‘very notion of freedom’ at stake, he warns

Attendees of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff gathered to discuss plans for the deployment of a standby force to Niger. Photo: Xinhua

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a speech about the situation in Niger. Photo: AFP

17 killed in Niger in first major jihadi attack since coup, fuelling Western fears

Supporters of Niger’s ruling junta gather at a protest against foreign interference in Niamey on August 3. Photo: AP

Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, addresses supporters in Niamey on August 6. Photo: AP

The new US ambassador to Niger, Kathleen FitzGibbon. Photo: US State Department

Coup leaders ‘will prosecute Niger’s deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for high treason’

Niger’s deposed President Mohamed Bazoum at the UN headquarters in New York in September. Photo: Reuters 

Niger’s National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane, second right, at the Stade General Seyni Kountche in Niamey, Niger on August 6. Photo: AFP via Getty Images / TNS

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, with deposed Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum during their meeting at the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger on March 16. Photo: Pool Photo via AP

Supporters of Niger’s junta take part in a demonstration in front of a French army base in Niamey, Niger, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

General Abdourahmane Tiani, who was declared the new head of state of Niger by leaders of the coup, arrives to meet with ministers in Niamey, Niger, on July 28. Photo: Reuters

West Africa bloc activates ‘standby force’ for possible Niger intervention

ECOWAS Senegalese troops in Gambia in 2017. The West African bloc has threatened to use force to reinstate the president of Niger. File photo: AP

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu (centre, first row) with other West African leaders before an ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. Photo: AP

Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been ousted by Niger’s military. File photo: TNS

Members of a military council that staged the coup in Niger. Photo: Reuters

Niger coup: Ecowas must ‘exhaust all avenues’ before violence, says head Tinubu

The President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu, (C), and leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) meet to discuss the political situation in Niger, in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Leaders of West African States (Ecowas) meet to discuss the political situation in Niger. Two weeks have passed since democratically elected Niger President Mohamed Bazoum, was ousted in a coup. Photo: EPA-EFE

Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane reads a statement on national TV appointing a new prime minister and a new head of the presidential guard. Photo: ORTN – Télé Sahel/AFP

In coup-hit Niger, US seeks to prevent new Russian gain

Russian flags can be seen among Nigeriens participating in a march called by supporters of coup leader General Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger. Photo: AP

Members of a military council that staged a coup in Niger attend a rally at a stadium in Niamey, Niger. Photo: Reuters

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum in Niamey, Niger, in March. File photo: AP

Russian mercenaries in northern Mali. File photo: French Army via AP 

News

World

‘Generals cannot take it upon themselves to defy – at a whim – the will of the people. Rule-by-gun has no place in today’s world’, Volker Turk said
The democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was toppled last month in the country’s fifth coup since independence from France in 1960


‘Generals cannot take it upon themselves to defy – at a whim – the will of the people. Rule-by-gun has no place in today’s world’, Volker Turk said.
