Did you also come across a viral message on social media platforms which reveals the period the United Nations needs before the organisation can intervene in a country where there has been ongoing protests? If you do, you need to read through this piece.
The message which became viral after a United Kingdom-based Nigerian doctor and Twitter influencer identified as Harvey Funmilayo in a tweet said the UN cannot intervene in a country if protests have not exceeded 30 days.
Funmilayo who has more than 200,000 followers tweeted:
“I just heard according to UN Constitution any protest that reaches 30days will make UN intervene in that country. The Nigeria govt knows this. Many young people don’t know it. EXCEPT the govt makes visible tangible immediate changes, #EndSARS protests MUST GO ON. Tell others”.
This message was shared by many social media users who advocated for widespread participation in the ongoing #EndSARS protest.
Recall that there was a renewed protest against the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) after a video showing a man allegedly shot dead in Delta by operatives of the police unit was circulated online.
Celebrities such as Folarin Falana, a Nigerian rapper popularly known as Falz and Runtown, a musician using the EndSARS hashtag led the campaign against police brutality.
The Inspector General of the Police, Mohammed Adamu bowed to pressure on the third day of the protest dissolved the controversial police unit and further stated that the dissolution of SARS was a first step in improving the operations of the police.
But the protesters refused to leave the streets, insisting that more concrete steps must be taken in reforming the police. Social media has been the force behind the protest as coordination and dissemination of information are done there; but are all the information on the protest correct?
#EndSARS: FAKE NEWS AS A CHALLENGE
One of the major challenges confronting the #EndSARS protest is fake news. As at last check, the UK-based medical doctor who shared a UN narrative of intervening in the #EndSARS scenario has deleted the tweet but the post is still been shared multiple times on social media platforms.
In another post to clarify the tweet, Olufunmilayo said he copied the post from the Twitter page of Falz, a leading figure in the protest. Falz, who is also a lawyer, has more than 1.7 million Twitter followers.
“I saw it on Falz page actually. It was later I realised he deleted it after and I did same too.” the doctor and influencer said.
“I will send you the actual source. It’s not Falz or me. I don’t want to post it here before it starts getting retweets again.”
IS THIS NARRATIVE OF UN INTERVENTION TRUE OR FALSE?
Firstly, the UN does not have a “constitution”, but a charter.
According to article 2 (7) of the purposes and principles of the organisation, as contained in the charter, the UN does not intervene in matters of domestic jurisdiction of any country.
“Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll,” the document reads.
The UN deals with matters related to the maintenance of international peace and security, which are being dealt with by the organisation’s security council.
Hence, the claim that the UN will intervene in any country where a protest extends for a 30-day period is FALSE.
