Letter to the High Commissioner of Nigeria to Canada regarding continuing attacks against Christians in the northern region of Nigeria
Thursday, May 10 2012May 9, 2012
His Excellency Professor Ivorwuese Hagher, PhD, OON
High Commissioner for
Your Excellency,
In an interview on April 30, 2012, with Aid to the Church in Need, the Most Reverend Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop of Jos and President of the Nigerian Conference of Catholic Bishops, expressed grave concern that the Government of Nigeria is failing to protect Christians in your country, particularly in the North. The interview, reported by Catholic News Service, indicates a great number of attacks on Christians in this region, with comparatively few arrests. According to Aid to the Church in Need, these attacks are almost daily, with Christians regularly the target. On April 29 alone, 21 people were killed and 20 others injured in coordinated attacks during Sunday worship services at a university campus in
The United Nations’ 2005 World Summit agreed that “Each individual State has the responsibility to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. This responsibility entails the prevention of such crimes, including their incitement, through appropriate and necessary means” (Article 138). Furthermore, the
Further to my earlier letter to you of November 14, 2011, as President of the Human Rights Committee of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, I wish to underline the concerns expressed by our brother Bishops in
Thank you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
The Most Reverend François Lapierre, P.M.É
Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe
Chairman of the Human Rights Committee
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
c.c.: The Honorable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs