Issue N° 31– September 2017

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Content

Editorial ............................................................. 1

Swiss National Day ........................................... 1

Portraits ............................................................. 3

Politics & Economy ............................................ 4

Human Security ................................................. 5

Migration ........................................................... 7

Development & Humanitarian Affairs ................. 8

Culture ............................................................ 10

Editorial

Dear Swiss compatriots, Dear friends from Nigeria, Since our last publication of the Swiss Gazette there have been several changes in the team of the Swiss Embassy in Abuja: My Deputy Dr. Daniel Cavegn left us in June to take over the post of Swiss Ambassador to Sudan and he was replaced by Mrs. Anne-Béatrice Bullinger, who arrived in July from our Embassy in Addis Ababa. Our Human Rights Adviser Mr. Roman Hunger left us for a new posting in Vienna in August. We also had the pleasure to welcome into our team in September a new colleague for the Humanitarian Aid, Mr. Christophe Grospierre. You will find in this Gazette a presentation of our new colleagues. This increase in staff in the field of Humanitarian Aid is an additional proof of the engagement of Switzerland in favor of the victims of the terrible conflict that continues to ravage the North East of Nigeria: in 2017, Switzerland’s financial contribution for the humanitarian assistance in the Lake Chad basin is already 22 million USD, two thirds of this sum for Nigeria and the rest for the three other affected countries – Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Another important contribution of Switzerland towards finding solutions to the conflict was the facilitation that contributed to the release of 21 Chibok Girls in October 2016 and 82 more in May 2017, in line with the long tradition of neutrality and good offices of our country. In the same spirit, Switzerland is continuing its support of programs for the promotion and respect of human rights in cooperation with the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Prisons Service, as well as with many other international and local partners who I wish to thank for their invaluable support and cooperation. Of course our well established bilateral partnership with Nigeria in the field of migration also continues, and extends its activities.

After a long and complicated registration procedure, the new Swiss Nigerian Business Council began its activities in Lagos in close cooperation with our Consulate General. New Swiss investors started businesses in the last months, which is one more positive signal that Nigeria is slowly emerging from the economic crisis.

Ambassador Mayoraz and the Abuja Choral Ensemble

I was unfortunately not able to travel to Lagos for the Swiss national day reception organized by my colleague and Consul General Yves Nicolet-Dit-Felix, but I was very glad to meet and greet some of you during our traditional 1

st of August celebration at my

Residence in Abuja. As usual, you will find many more details about the activities of the Embassy in Abuja and those of the Consulate General in Lagos, as well as our consular matters in this edition of the Swiss Gazette. The teams of the Embassy in Abuja and of the Consulate General in Lagos remain at your disposal for more information or any assistance you may need. Do not hesitate to contact us! Best regards, Eric Mayoraz, Ambassador

Swiss National Day

Lagos

On 29 July 2017, the Consul General of Switzerland in Lagos invited members of the Swiss Community, managers of Swiss companies in Nigeria, government officials, Obas (Kings) of Lagos and Ikoyi and other

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prominent personalities in the society to celebrate the Swiss national day at his Residence.

Clockwise: Interpretation of the national anthem by the Nicolet family;

Consul General with guest; Obas of Lagos and Ikoyi

The Swiss and Nigerian anthems were wonderfully sung by Mrs. Teuta Nicolet (wife of the Consul General) and her two children Alexandre and Marin Nicolet, with a Tenor Singer, Mr. Joseph Oparanuike. In his speech, Mr. Nicolet informed the guests that it was not a blunder if the Swiss National Day was not celebrated on the 1

st of August, because the pact

signed by the three leaders of the first three cantons states that it was signed at the beginning of the month of August 1291 and not specifically on the 1

st.

This was the very first official celebration of Swiss National Day in Lagos since the inauguration of the new Consulate General of Switzerland in Nigeria in March 2016. The Swiss Community of Nigeria (SCON) offered one of the most popular Swiss culinary specialties: “La Raclette” that many Nigerians had the opportunity to taste with great delight. There was also a cocktail and drinks to go round.

Abuja

On 1

st of August, the Ambassador invited all our Swiss

compatriots as well as representatives of national and local authorities, diplomats and friends of the Swiss Embassy to the celebration of the 726

th anniversary of

the Swiss Confederation at the Swiss Residence. The 400+ guests were warmly welcomed in the Ambassador’s speech. The Abuja Choral Ensemble beautifully sang the anthems of both Switzerland and Nigeria, after which guests savored the spread of sumptuous Swiss foods and fine wine.

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Portraits

Anne-Béatrice Bullinger: New Deputy Head of Mission

Anne-Béatrice arrived in Abuja mid July 2017 to replace Daniel Cavegn as Deputy Head of Mission. Anne-Béatrice was posted to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and worked there for four years before joining the team in Abuja. She is a native of Geneva and has previously held various positions in the fields of federalism, university management and health diplomacy before coming to Africa. After her experiences in Ethiopia, Djibouti, South Sudan and the African Union, she decided to come to Abuja to widen her knowledge of Africa. She is mainly in charge of economic affairs and has taken over the human rights portfolio following the departure of Roman Hunger. Anne-Béatrice is here with her 14 year old daughter Zoé who is attending school in Abuja. They were pleased to see that Abuja is such a clean and quiet city. It felt a bit artificial, and far from the image that Nigeria has abroad. They are looking forward to discovering Lagos and other towns and cities so as to feel the country’s vibes.

Anne-Béatrice Bullinger and daughter Zoé

Anne-Béatrice and Zoé share the passion of horse riding and have recently added a family member with the purchase of their horse named Ella. Although Anne-Béatrice and Zoé still miss the famous injera food of Ethiopia, they are starting to enjoy the famous Nigerian jollof rice, and snails, and are looking

forward to the many new adventures Nigeria will present.

Christophe Grospierre: Second Secretary, Humanitarian Aid

“After one week here, I am impressed with Abuja, its nice people, and clean environment. Definitely a very pleasant city.” I grew up in Geneva where I studied International Management, and then Human Rights at the University of Geneva. With 20+ years of experience in the field of human rights, humanitarian affairs and development, I am now here in Nigeria to support the portfolio of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid which is involved in the North East of Nigeria.

Christophe Grospierre and daughter

I started my career in 1993 during the crisis in former Yugoslavia with the Swiss based organization International Committee of the Red Cross, and have worked for the Swiss Humanitarian Aid since 2009. I have been in many places during the last 25 years - former Yugoslavia, South and South-East Asia, East Africa, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. I have worked in different contexts but mainly in conflict zones where I was involved in protection of civilian population: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Libya and East Timor for example. In the last 30 years, the world has been experiencing more and more internal conflicts, with non-state actors involved. This adds to the complexity and increases the difficulties to work towards the respect of human rights and International Humanitarian Law. Nowadays civilians are unfortunately paying a high price in many contexts and the protection of civilians is among the priorities of Switzerland and the Swiss Humanitarian Aid in particular. Before being posted to Nigeria I was in Ukraine for the observation mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, where I was observing

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the cease fire violations and the presence of heavy weapons on the front line. Before that I was in Mali with UNICEF as a Peace Building Adviser, and in Libya - first in Benghazi during the revolution and then in Tripoli. Libya was an opportunity to get familiar with the migration issues since most migrants coming from both East Africa and Sub Saharan Africa pass there before heading on a very dangerous trip to Europe. I am excited to now be in Nigeria, a fascinating country with a great potential and interesting people. I am glad that I could bring my wife and our little daughter here and I am sure that we will enjoy being in Abuja.

Politics & Economy

Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment visits Switzerland

In April 2017, a delegation from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment led by the Honorable Minister, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah visited Geneva for the UN Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD E-Commerce week. While in Switzerland, Dr. Enelamah met with Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann to discuss issues aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between Nigeria and Switzerland. The delegation also held successful meetings with European Free Trade Agreement EFTA member countries in furtherance of negotiations on the EFTA declaration. Since then, the EFTA declaration has been finalized and should be signed at the end of November 2017.

Dr. Enelamah and Mr. Schneider-Ammann

21st edition of “Business meets Politics”

On 24 May 2017, we held the 21

st edition of the

“Business meets Politics” - forum on the topic "Does a young entrepreneur have a real chance of success in Nigeria?”. The speaker from the government sector was Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment who also serves as the Secretary of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Coordinator of the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES). PEBEC has been mandated with the task of driving reforms aimed at easing the doing of business in Nigeria. The speaker from the private sector was Dr. Angel Adelaja, a development consultant, youth entrepreneur and pioneer member of Abuja Global Shapers, a component of the World Economic Forum.

Top: Dr. Jumoke Oduwole. Bottom: Dr. Angel Adelaja

The forum was attended by 95 participants from different sectors including government entities, Swiss companies, members of Abuja Global Shapers, youth associations, diplomatic missions, international organizations, and representatives from the private sector which facilitated robust discussions, engagement and networking amongst stakeholders.

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Registration of Swiss Nigerian Business Council

Following compliance with the registration procedure of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Swiss Nigerian Business Council (SNBC) has finally been issued a certificate of incorporation. The Council owes its establishment to the efforts of Dr. Daniel Cavegn, former Swiss Deputy Head of Mission who after observing the lack of collaboration amongst the active Swiss companies in Nigeria engaged representatives of the firms on the need to create a platform for networking and collaboration. This resulted in an agreement to establish the SNBC two years ago. The arrival of Consul General, Yves Nicolet-Dit-Felix in Nigeria in 2016 further boosted efforts towards its establishment which culminated in its inauguration in October 2016. To enable the SNBC function effectively, legal registration was pursued and with the strong support of the Swiss Embassy the CAC finally issued a certificate of incorporation to the SNBC in September 2017. It is hoped that the SNBC will be an integral tool for fostering synergies amongst Swiss companies in Nigeria with concomitant benefits accruing to both countries.

Human Security

Embassy visits Nigerian Prison Service

Ambassador Mayoraz and the Controller General of Prisons Mr. Ja'afaru

Ahmed

On 27 July 2017, Swiss Ambassador Mr. Eric Mayoraz, the newly arrived Deputy Head of Mission Mrs. Anne-Béatrice Bullinger, and Human Security Advisor Mr. Roman Hunger paid a courtesy visit to the Controller General of Prisons, Mr. Ja’afaru Ahmed at the Nigerian Prisons Service Headquarters in Abuja. The Embassy recalled a multiple-year support tо the Nigerian Prisons Service on human rights training, and the two parties discussed the strengthening of their cooperation in the coming years. The Controller General expressed his gratitude and sincere thanks to the Government of Switzerland and stressed the importance of a continuation of the successful cooperation between the Embassy of Switzerland and the Nigerian Prisons Service.

Anne-Beatrice Bullinger and Mr. Ja'afaru Ahmed

Investing in Peace and the Prevention of Violence in the Sahel-Sahara

Violent extremism has broad societal, security, and governance implications, and touches upon religion, ideology, economics, social issues, justice, and development, making it a complex problem that can be understood and analyzed differently, depending on the approach taken. In the hope of deepening exchanges and pursuing regional solutions on such matters, the “Second Regional Conversations on the UN Secretary-General’s Plan to Prevent Violent Extremism” were successfully organized in N’Djamena, Chad, on May 31 and June 1, 2017, with active contributions from the Embassy and senior Nigerian participation. The seminar was co-organized by the International Peace Institute, the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

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Over 100 participants from fourteen countries in northern, western, and central Africa and ten regional and international organizations, as well as a number of independent experts participated. A comprehensive brief of the event and its conclusions can be found at: https://www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/IPI-E-RPT-Chad-Meeting-NoteEnglish.pdf

Working towards peace and reconciliation in the Lake Chad Basin

In an effort to support affected States in the development and implementation of genuine national (or even regional), multidimensional policies and strategies to reduce the current state of belligerency and contribute to a normalization of the security situation in north-east Nigeria / Lake Chad Basin, the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs facilitated a regional workshop in Caux, from 8-10 July 2017. Attended by high-level delegations from Niger, Nigeria, and Chad, the workshop offered a platform for governments and civil society of the region (religious and traditional leaders, communities, NGOs) to analyze and share existing policies, programs, and experiences on the complex political, institutional, operational, legal, financial, cultural, and security dimensions of peacebuilding.

The delegations from Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Switzerland

Senior Nigerian guests around H.R.H. the Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Kyari

Umar El-Kanemi

Particular focus was given to the challenge of reintegrating persons associated with non-state armed groups (community preparedness, role of the various key stakeholders, reconciliation, dealing with the past), and to determine possible future modes of regional collaboration.

GCTF – Switzerland and Nigeria join forces

Mr. Stephen Husy, Swiss Ambassador for International Counter-

Terrorism, and Commodore Yem Musa, Coordinator, Counter-Terrorism Centre, Nigeria

From 5-9 September 2017, a high-powered delegation from Bern, led by Stephan Husy, Ambassador-at-Large for International Counter-Terrorism, visited Nigeria, received by the Office of the National Security Adviser under the leadership of Commodore Yem Musa, coordinator of the “Counter-Terrorism Centre”.

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The visit enabled the finalization of a work plan for the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum’s (GCTF) Working Group on Criminal Justice and Rule of Law, which Nigeria and Switzerland will jointly chair for the next two years. Some of the priorities and deliverables identified include the role of different actors in the collection, sharing and use of evidence, capacity building around the Neuchâtel Memorandum on Good Practices for Juvenile Justice in a Counterterrorism Context, the involvement of women in terrorism-related activities and appropriate responses within the criminal justice system, interagency cooperation, and administrative counterterrorism measures. The GCTF is an international forum of 29 countries and the European Union, with an overarching mission of reducing the vulnerability of people worldwide to terrorism by preventing, combating, and prosecuting terrorist acts and countering incitement and recruitment.

DHQ visits Embassy

On 23 May 2017, a delegation of the Nigerian Defense Headquarters led by the Director of Civil Military Relations, Air Commodore O.O. Akinsanya, paid a courtesy visit to the Embassy, where they were received by Human Security Adviser Roman Hunger, and Political Adviser Pascal Holliger. This was in recognition of Switzerland’s record in working with other security agencies on the promotion of human rights, as well as its role in facilitating dialogue between conflict parties which led to the release of 103 Chibok girls since October 2016. The DHQ delegation pledged to spare no effort in ensuring maximum respect for human rights by security agencies - despite the difficult contexts in which they continue to be deployed – and various possible areas of collaboration were discussed.

Migration

Strengthening Access to Justice and Victim Support in the field of Human Trafficking

L-R: Acting Director General of NAPTIP, UNODC Country Rep. Ms.

Cristina Albertin and Project Coordinator Mikael Jensen, Swiss Embassy's Jolanda Pfister Herren, and representative of the Benue

State University

On 30 March 2017 the closing ceremony of a certificated training for social workers, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) counselors and Network of Civil Society Organizations against Child Trafficking Abuse and Labor (NACTAL) Counselors took place.

Top: Participants were entertained by traditional Tiv dancers. Bottom: Swiss Embassy's Migration Adviser Mrs Jolanda Pfister Herren hands out certificates to successful course participants

The fight against trafficking in human beings is one of the areas of cooperation defined in the Swiss-Nigeria Migration Partnership signed in February 2011. The training provided was on basic counselling and social work skills in management of trafficked persons and was organized at Benue State University in Makurdi. It

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was held in the framework of the project “Support and Capacity Building to NAPTIP on Strengthening Access to Justice and Victim Support”, funded by the Government of Switzerland, and implemented by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with NAPTIP. The representative of the Governor of Benue State opened the Ceremony. The Vice Chancellor of Benue State University, the Acting Director General of NAPTIP and the UNODC Country Representative were also present at this ceremony. Switzerland was represented by the Migration Adviser of the Embassy of Switzerland.

Edo Women’s Conference 2017 on Modern Day Slavery

Ms Tobore Ovuorie and Jolanda Pfister Herren, flanked by UNODC's

Mikael Jensen and Abimbola Adewumi

The NGO “Edo Women’s Development Initiative” (EWDI) organize an annual conference on societal issues, particularly those that impact women. This year’s conference theme was “Modern Day Slavery: Policies and Programs to Combat/End Trafficking in Edo State”. It took place on 13 July 2017 in Benin City and was opened by the Governor of Edo State. The keynote address was given by Dr. Esohe Aghatise, an internationally known voice in anti-trafficking, and a trustee of EWDI. The Zonal Commander of NAPTIP in Benin, the Executive Director of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Sister Florence Nwaonuma, the Migration Adviser of the Embassy of Switzerland and a representative of UNODC were invited to participate in the panel discussion moderated by Ms. Tobore Ovuorie, journalist and Executive Director of the Media Initiative Against Human Trafficking Women Rights Abuse (MIAHWRA). Human trafficking is an endemic phenomenon in Edo State. In his opening remarks the Governor expressed his strong will to end human trafficking in Edo State and announced the creation of an Anti-Human

Trafficking Task Force to be headed by the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Edo State, Professor Yinka Omorogbe.

Development & Humanitarian Affairs

Humanitarian efforts and update

Over the last couple of months, an upsurge in violence has been observed in both the North-East of Nigeria and the extreme North of Cameroon. Of particular concern are the 83 children who have been forced to become suicide bombers in N-E Nigeria since January 2017 (55 girls, 27 boys and one baby), a number four times higher than for the whole of 2016.

Following the signature of a Tripartite Agreement on 2 March 2017 between the Governments of Nigeria, Cameroun and the UNHCR, a Tripartite Commission was launched on 10 August 2017 to operationalize the modalities and measures required to ensure a safe and dignified voluntary return of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon. Out of the $1.05 billion sought by the International humanitarian community to complement the Nigerian government’s emergency and rehabilitation interventions in 2017, some $650 million have been granted so far, $15 million being provided by the Humanitarian Aid of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Since early 2017, Switzerland chairs the humanitarian donors group which includes some 15 cooperation agencies and embassies and is one of the two permanent donor members sitting on the UN strategic coordination team in-country. In September, a senior humanitarian expert joined the Embassy as Programme Officer.

IDP camp in Maiduguri

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Taking advantage of the lean season, some 220,000 farming households having access back to their farmlands received seeds, tools and fertilizers to restart their livelihood activities. A cholera outbreak started mid-August in one of the displaced camps of Maiduguri, spreading a few days later to Dikwa, Monguno and Konduga. Health and sanitation teams are working round the clock, striving to contain the epidemics as already more than 2,600 people have been infected and close to 50 have died. A major immunization campaign is currently taking place - over 900,000 vaccines having just been imported. Beyond the North-East, floods are currently affecting about 250,000 people in 21 Local Government Areas of Benue State.

IDP camp and settlements in Monguno

The new Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Mark Lowcock, undertook a mission to Niger and Nigeria the second week of September, just a few days after being appointed in this role. A high level event on the Lake Chad Basin was organized on the margins of the on-going General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

Small scale project: Toilets for the Anglican Primary School in Ayobo/Lagos

On 20 September 2017 Swiss Consul General Yves Nicolet-dit-Felix attended the ceremony of the commissioning of the toilet facilities for the Primary Anglican School in Ipaja Ayobo, a rural area of Lagos State, with very bad access road. The school is attended by more than 1000 pupils. The Embassy of Switzerland in Abuja was approached by an NGO, Development Support, for the construction of toilet facilities in this school. This project was approved by the Embassy and was funded with the amount of NGN 4’120’000.

Consul General of Switzerland Mr. Yves Nicolet-Dit-Felix, with staff and

pupils of the Anglican Primary School, Ipaja Ayobo – Lagos

The new building contains four toilets and two urinals for boys, and four toilets and a shower for girls. In addition they built female and male toilets for the teachers. Six washbasins and a water tank were installed. A septic tank which will be emptied only every three years was also built. The Consul General underlined in his speech that this kind of projects are very important, as they will improve the daily life of the pupils and teachers.

Mr. Yves Nicolet commissioning the facility open

The local authorities were represented by the Executive Chairman of the SUBEB (part of the Lagos State Government). The Oba (King) of the area was also present. The satisfaction of the population, the pupils and the teachers could be heard and seen.

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Culture

Francophonie Festival 2017

L-R: Ms. Christina Albertin, Dr. Eunice Anuforum, Mrs. Jolanda Pfister

Herren, Ms. Enira Krdzalic, Ms. Ojoma Ali

This year’s Francophonie Festival, organized by country members of the International Organization of La Francophonie, took place from 17 to 25 March 2017. Switzerland, as a member of La Francophonie, organized on 17 March 2017 at the Swiss Residence in Abuja a panel discussion on human trafficking which was attended by 80 people. The event brought Heads of missions – Ms. Enira Krdzalic of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Ms. Cristina Albertin of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Head of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Counselling and Rehabilitation Unit, Dr. Eunice Anuforum - to serve as panelists. Their contributions centered on their core competences of addressing forced labor, human/drug trafficking and child labor. A cocktail preceded the intense discussions, after which the Swiss movie “The Black Brothers” was shown to the audience. The Swiss Embassy also participated in the annual International Food Fair on 25 March 2017 at the French Institute in Abuja with tasty minced chicken and mushrooms mixed with vegetables, chocolate and carrot cake.

Embassy witnesses Durbar Celebration

On 25-26 June, some Embassy representatives were in Zaria at the invitation of the Zazzau Emirate Council for the Durbar celebration on the occasion of the Eid-al-Fitr. Together with colleagues from other diplomatic missions, this was an opportunity to meet His Highness Alhaji Shehu Idris, Emir of Zazzau, and to once again witness an extraordinary royal and cultural spectacle of Northern Nigeria.

Editorial team: Eric Mayoraz, Anne-Béatrice Bullinger, Yves Nicolet, Manuel Mutrux, Jolanda Pfister Herren, Pascal Holliger, Christophe Grospierre, Ruth Zumbühl, Ojoma Ali, Babatunde Ajala For suggestions and recommendations, please write to: abu.vertretung@eda.admin.ch

Contacts Embassy of Switzerland

N° 157, Adetokumbo Ademola Crescent

P.O.BOX 5162 Wuse II

Abuja – Nigeria www.eda.admin.ch/abuja

abu.vertretung@eda.admin.ch

Landline phone: +234 (0)9 220 0400/1/2 Mobile phone: +234 (0)810 411 9943/44/45/46

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Submission hours: Monday -Thursday: 09:00-11:00 (upon appointment only) For appointments call +234 810 071 81 41 (Monday-Thursday 14:00-15:00

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