Upcoming Events
The Northern Nigerian Girl Child: Surviving Ideological Suppression
Date: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Time: 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Location: Church Center of the United Nations (CCUN), Floor 10
RSVP: ngocsw69forum.events.whova.com/registration/
Announcement: Stefanos Foundation and Jubilee Campaign will be hosting a joint parallel event on the sidelines of the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which will take place in March 2025 in New York City.
Stefanos Foundation has for over two decades been providing essential humanitarian aid to communities displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency and more recently by Fulani militant violence and other criminal gang violence in northern and central Nigeria. They have had to stand in the gap where state assistance has been insufficient or completely missing. They have also worked to provide legal aid and human rights training to local communities.
Relevant background information: The main focus of the Commission on Status of Women’s sixty-ninth session will be on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. The review will include an assessment on the current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. Among critical areas of concern to be discussed at CSW69 are worldwide “violence against women” and “the girl child”.
Child marriage remains a global issue clogging development of many countries. In February 2024, Nigeria ranked 3rd among countries with the highest incidence of under-aged marriage. The recent statistic for underage marriage of the girl child in Nigeria is at 30.3% while that of the boy child is 1.6%. This goes without saying that the girl child is the major recipient of this plague which has persistently crippled gender-inclusivity while contributing to patriarchy in the country. Stefanos Foundation has reported how underage marriage is mostly predominant among the rural communities in the Northern part of Nigeria, with Bauchi state coming on top of the list of States with highest underage marriage in Nigeria. A key challenge in achieving justice for victims of child marriage globally, as addressed by the UN Secretary General in his report, is “the coexistence of multiple legal systems, with discriminatory customary and religious laws and practice prevailing”. Despite the Secretary General’s report speaking broadly on worldwide patterns of early and forced marriage, it perfectly applies – regrettably – to the situation in Nigeria.
Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and other criminal groups have been involved in the kidnapping and enslaving and sexual exploitation of women and girls for more than a decade. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime released a report organised crime in Nigeria, it noted: “Nigeria has not one but several distinct kidnapping problems […] There is no area of the country that is spared by kidnappings today.” The report also notes that, “most Nigerian victims are trafficked within Nigeria for sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude and forced begging, and a large proportion of these victims are children.”
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), between 2014 and 2022, a total of 1,436 school children and 17 teachers were abducted from schools and 16 school children lost their lives. The report also noted involvement of state actors in kidnappings – assistance which included the supplying of weapons, forewarning, and influence in judicial processes in acquiring bail.
In its last review of Nigeria in 2021, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women – separate from the CSW in that it’s comprises a small group of independent experts – emphasized the need for Nigeria to ensure that “its internal governance arrangements do not impede the implementation of the provisions of the Convention throughout its territory” and “ensure that customary and islamic personal laws comply with the convention”. The Committee additionally called for accountability, urging the Nigerian government to prosecute and punish the perpetrators responsible for child marriages and other violence against women and girls. As of August 2024, Nigeria is yet to provide their state report to the CEDAW.
Jubilee and Stefanos have organized several parallel events over the past years during the annual CSW conference raising concern with the lack of implementation in Nigeria’s ratified laws and international law commitments. The International Criminal Court is investigating the crimes committed by Boko Haram, and the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have issued repeated recommendations spanning a decade calling on the government of Nigeria to harmonise its laws and to address the violence against women and the girl child. The discrepancy between the Nigeria’s expression of commitment to gender equality and the reality on the ground has allowed violence against women and girls to continue unmitigated.
Objective(s): This side-event is convened to hear about the impact of localised efforts by civil society to address the challenges facing women and girls, particularly forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in the context of the growing insecurity and the existence of parallel legal systems in Nigeria. We aim to evaluate the extent of implementation of the United Nations 12 point goals in Northern Nigeria, and its influence in strengthening prevention and protection of the girl child, especially the most vulnerable. A government representative from Nigeria’s Plateau State will also share about what steps local governments can take to address violence against women and girls.
Schedule:
- Panel Discussion (speakers below)
- Report Presentation – 30 Years After Beijing Women Conference: What Next and How Has it Fared in a Developing County Like Nigeria’ ? A Case study of Northern Nigeria
- Documentary Screening – 30 Years After Beijing: The Success, Struggles and Resilience of Women and Girls in Northern Nigeria
Speakers:
Honorable Panglang Caroline Dafur, Plateau State Commissioner of Women Affairs, has made tremendous accomplishments during her term, including implementing the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, and Child’s Right Law; she additionally has established the Plateau State Gender Commission. Ms. Dafur holds a Film Arts degree from the National Film Institute in Jos, and she is presently undertaking a Master’s Degree in International Studies at Nassarawa State University.
Honorable Neido Geoffrey Kofulto, Adamawa State Commissioner of Women Affairs, holds a degree in Mass Communications from Adamawa State Polytechnic University, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Languages and Communication from Modibbo Adama University of Technology. Ms. Kofulto is exquisitely talented in languages, being fluent in English, Hausa, and Bwatiye. She served in the National Convention Planning Subcommittee Entertainment and Welfare of the People’s Democratic Party, and she was Special Assistant to Adamawa State Executive Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. Prior to her appointment as Adamawa State Commissioner of Women Affairs, Ms. Kofulto served as Commissioner of the Ministry of Information and Strategy for Adamawa State. In July 2024 the North East Chapter of the National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) offered an enthusiastic statement welcoming Ms. Kofulto to her new position.
Honorable Halima Hassan Kamba, Kebbi State Commissioner for Women Affairs, boasts a three-decade career in civil service and women’s empowerment. Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Sokoto and a Post-Graduate Diploma from Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi, Ms. Kamba worked at Government Teachers College, starting as a class teacher, then a Vice Principal, and finally as the Principal in just five years. After serving as the Local Government Secretary in Maiyama, Augie, Birnin Kebbi, and Kalgo LGAs, she was appointed Director of Kebbi State’s Ministry of Education. Directly prior to her assuming her position as the Kebbi State Commissioner for Women Affairs in 2023, Ms. Kamba served as the Principal of Government Girls Science Comprehensive School, Argungu, Kebbi State.
Honorable Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim assumed office as Nigeria’s Minister of Women’s Affairs in October 2024. Ms. Sulaiman-Ibrahim was formerly the Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, and formerly the Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons. Ms. Sulaiman-Ibrahim holds a sociology degree from the University of Abuja; two master’s degrees from Webster University in Business Administration and Art, respectively; and she is currently pursuing a PhD in Security and Strategic Studies at the Nigerian Defense Academy.
Honorable Olivia Dazyam is a barrister from Plateau State, Nigeria, who was called to the Bar in 1991; she is an advocate for women’s rights and advancement. Ms. Dazyam has served in various positions including, but not limited to, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Jos Branch and International Federation of Women Lawyers-Nigeria (FIDA) Chairperson in Plateau. She has also served in her state’s Ministry of Justice as Commissioner of Women’s Affairs and of Information and Communications.
Guiding Questions:
- What are the overall outcomes of localised efforts by civil society to rescue girls who have been forcibly married and coercively converted? Can they be replicated in other states? If so, how?
- How is Plateau state working to rescue women and girls abducted by insurgents? How is Plateau working to investigate and prosecute and punish perpetrators of alleged sexual exploitation?
- How is Stefanos and Plateau working/ collaborating to ensure rehabilitation and integration into society of survivors and provide them and their families with access to psychosocial and other rehabilitative services?
- What are some examples of localised efforts to address the insecurity, launched Plateau state? What positive outcomes have you seen for women and girls? What have been some challenges?
- How is the Plateau local government involving women in their decision making process?
RESCUERS: Meet Today’s Heroes and Heroines Saving North Korean Refugees
Date: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM (EST)
Location: Church Center of the United Nations (Floor 2)
Event Description:
An esteemed panel of individuals who have helped rescue thousands of North Koreans will describe the conditions in North Korea that lead people to want to escape their homeland, the “underground railroad” they helped develop, and the current situation facing North Koreans in China today since the borders’ reopening.
There is no fee to attend the event, but your donations are greatly appreciated. NKFC receives no government funding and pays no salaries, we are a completely volunteer organization. Donations will be 100% dedicated to programs and events dedicated to North Korea freedom!
Speakers:
Pastor Kim Seungeun is a prominent human rights activist and the founder and president of Caleb Mission, where he leads efforts to rescue and support North Korean defectors. He is dedicated to helping them build self-reliance and has also worked to rescue North Korean orphans, advocating for laws that make adoption easier. Pastor Kim is known for his modern-day “Underground Railroad” ministry which has rescued over 1,000 defectors since 2000. He is also a vocal advocate against human rights violations in North Korea and China, particularly the persecution and trafficking of defectors who face severe dangers when attempting to escape. His work has been widely covered in the media and was featured in the documentary Beyond Utopia, which won the Audience Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and received nominations for a British Oscar and Emmy Awards. Pastor Kim’s unwavering faith and commitment to social justice continue to inspire people around the world.
Ms. Park Jiah was born in North Korea in 1960. She lived in a large port city and enjoyed the great benefits and joy of all the conditions of North Korea at the time. She also lived a life of perfect self-sufficiency. During the Arduous March when famine gripped North Korea, Ms. Park made the decision to defect from North Korea to start a new life because she saw the ruin of the lives of everyone around her. She was deeply troubled because her husband had been making strong criticisms against the regime as he had traveled to Russia and China. She came to realize his opinion was correct and knew ruin could come to them as well. After defecting and seeing the world of extremes between North and South Korea, Ms. Park felt a sense of great purpose to let people know in North Korea that only those who reach South Korea and live in the free world can achieve anything with just a dream and a challenge. Once she obtained freedom in South Korea, Ms. Park first successfully rescued her family, all her siblings, and in-laws, and then quietly created an underground railroad in North Korea and China that functioned successfully for 20 years and led to the rescue of thousands. She believes it mirrors what can be achieved through peaceful unification as she created reunions for families in a “war zone” without any conflict or gunfire. Ms. Park believes that the most useful networks she established were successful because she was 100% open and helped everyone regardless of their status in North Korea. She strongly believes that today’s era of unification is very possible because many North Korean defectors, Chinese people, missionary organizations, pastors, and NGOs from all over the world participated in her network.
Mr. Lee Kyung Sun was dispatched to China in February 1992 as an overseas agent for the North Korean Defense Security Command (a DPRK counter-intelligence unit). Exposed to the outside world and in protest against the irrationality of the North Korean regime centered around the Kim Il Sung family, he made the decision to defect. The two main reasons for his defection were the lies he learned about Kim Il Sung and Korean Liberation and the actual birthplace of Kim Jong Il. Mr. Lee felt betrayed by the fact that Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il were lying to the North Korean people. In attempts to defect to South Korea, he was forcibly repatriated twice by the Chinese government, and he was sent to a North Korean political prison. After being subjected to torture and malnutrition, Mr. Lee was miraculously released. He decided, once again, to defect in February 2002, and after passing through China and Southeast Asia, he finally reached the Republic of Korea that July. He has been studying theology since 2003 and became a pastor and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Christian Unification Leadership at Soongsil University. He currently works at Unification Hope Mission, an organization which has successfully rescued more than 1500 North Korean refugees and supports trafficked North Korean women and their children in China. Mr. Lee is continuously working to spread the Christian gospel to the people of North Korea to bring about peaceful change to his homeland.
Ms. Ji Hannah was born in 1964 in Shingwa, Ryanggang Province, North Korea. She is a survivor of political prison camps and China’s detention centers. She was barely making enough to survive when the regime initiated the infamous currency reform in 2009, which destroyed her financially. Ms. Ji decided to go to China, making a promise to her two sons, for whom she had provided enough support to survive while she was gone, that she would make money and come back for them. She experienced two forcible repatriations by the Chinese police. The only crime Ms. Ji committed was to go to China to make money. But the Kim regime sent her to prison and tortured her, treating her like a serious criminal offender. After being forcibly sent back to North Korea twice, on her third defection attempt, she successfully defected to South Korea in 2015. Incredibly, Ms. Ji personally went back to China, risking her own life and safety to ensure her sons got out of North Korea and safely to South Korea, where they arrived in 2019.