In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
JOINT STATEMENT ON GLOBAL PEACE
Friday, September 19, 2025
Lagos, Nigeria
A Vote for Global Peace
We are a network of faith-based and non-governmental organisations that are committed to peace and stability in Nigeria and the world at large.
As world leaders gather in the coming days for this year’s extraordinary General Assembly of the United Nations, we wish to remind them about the expectations of the peoples of the world.
Israel and Global Peace:
In our statement issued on June 25, 2025 in the wake of the cessation of Israel’s unprovoked aggression against Iran, we urged world leaders to “prioritise diplomacy over wars” and use the Israel-Iran war “as a wakeup call to reform and strengthen the United Nations and the international system that flows from it”.
We expressed concern that “the potency of the global body has been eroded by conflicting interests of global powers” and called for reforms that would deliver a more “effective and strong UN”.
We condemned unilateralism, impunity and selective application of international law to nations and their leaders. We reasoned that “unilateralism defeats whatever pretences powerful nations have about rules-based international order” and regarded it as “antithetical to the multilateral framework that was architected after the Second World War.”
Most significantly, we called for “a lasting resolution to the age-long Palestine Question” and advocated that “a fully-fledged State of Palestine should become a reality sooner rather than later”.
Regrettably, three months after the Israel-Iran war, the wider conflict in the Middle East has further escalated, as Israel, against growing international condemnation, has imposed more inhumane conditions on the people of Palestine, attacked more countries unprovoked and blockaded humanitarian convoys.
It is relieving that more and more countries, international organisations and people of conscience around the world have shown courage to condemn the genocide that is taking place in Gaza and other occupied territories.
Other Conflicts Around the World:
Though Israel’s aggression in the Middle East takes the centre stage, peace continues to elude several countries in other parts of the world, most significantly in Africa.
While the West continues to work out a pragmatic way out of the Russia-Ukraine war, less attention has been given to the devastation in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sahel region.
The African Union under whose purview these conflicts fall has remained a shadow of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity.
Nigeria:
Despite some positive strides in the campaign against criminal elements who threaten national peace and stability in all the geopolitical zones of Nigeria, the country cannot be properly designated as safe. We are concerned by the growing sense of resignation and normalisation of the situation by Nigerians.
Further to this, we strongly condemn the selective narratives propagated by certain foreign governments, as well as by some local religious leaders and groups, who have weaponised Nigeria’s security challenges for religious and political ends, thereby misrepresenting the crisis as a targeted war against Christians. In reality, credible statistics reveal that Nigerians of all faiths – Muslims, Christians, and others – have suffered from these senseless and indiscriminate killings. Such distortions not only undermine the complexity of the situation but also risk deepening divisions in an already fragile situation.
Our Prayers:
Against this background, we pray as follows:
- We urge the international community to seize the opportunity presented by the upcoming United Nations summit to take bold and decisive action on the question of Palestine. In particular, we call on the UN to vote in favour of restoring the full rights of the Palestinian people and to formally recognise the State of Palestine as a sovereign nation, in accordance with the provisions of longstanding UN resolutions.
- Nations of the world must act in unison to impose sanctions on Israel and consider its expulsion from the United Nations, in response to its continued apartheid policies and violations of international Such a decisive action would reaffirm the UN’s commitment to justice, human rights, and the principles enshrined in its Charter.
- Nigeria, alongside other nations in Africa and the Global South, must assert their sovereignty and resist any form of complicity in the ongoing genocide. To this end, we call on them to:
a. Sever economic and security ties with Israel;
b. Vote in favour of a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s war of aggression in the Middle East;
c. Support the recognition of a sovereign State of Palestine; and
d. Back the growing global call for the expulsion or, in the minimum, the suspension of the apartheid State of Israel from the United Nations - Western powers, the principal enablers of Israel, must come to terms with the fact that history is no longer on their side on the Israel-Palestine issue. In light of shifting global conscience, we urge them to:
a. Exert pressure on Israel to stop its war of aggression in the Middle East;
b. Sever economic and security ties with Israel;
c. Vote in favour of a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s war of aggression in the Middle East;
d. Support the recognition of a sovereign State of Palestine; and
e. Back the growing global call for the expulsion or, in the minimum, the suspension of the apartheid State of Israel from the United Nations
- In addition to these urgent calls, we urge all nations to act collectively under the banner of the United Nations to resolve the ongoing conflicts in Kashmir, Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Sahel A unified global response is essential to reaffirm the UN’s role as a guardian of international peace and stability.
- To save the United Nations from the fate of its predecessor, the League of Nations, we appeal to all member-states to consider an overhaul of the global body to make it and its organs, including the International Court of Justice, become platforms with binding authority on all members. No nation should be allowed to be bigger than the rest of the world in matters of global peace and stability.
- One key role of the UN that earned it global respect in the past was The global body needs to return as an effective buffer between nations involved in conflict. This role should no longer be outsourced to its powerful members.
- To give meaningful effect to the call for a consensus-driven, multilateral global order, and to strengthen the United Nations as a truly representative and equitable global institution, it is imperative that all nations fulfil their financial obligations to the global body.
- Lastly, we call on the government of Nigeria to rise to the occasion as the giant of Africa to decisively address internal security challenges and regain its voice as the leader of Africa and a leading member of the Global South.
We stand in solidarity with all peace-loving people of conscience around the world who uphold justice, peace, and the sanctity of our shared humanity. We pray for peace and stability in Nigeria and the world at large.
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For and on behalf of the collaborating organisations:
Tajudeen Alabede,
Lead Facilitator, Coalition for Global Peace (CGP)
Disu Kamor,
Executive Chairman, Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria
Dr Ahmad Jumba,
Secretary General, Da‘wah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN)
ENDORSEMENT
The joint statement on global peace is endorsed by the following organisations:
- Abuja Muslim Forum (AMF)
- Al-Falaah Islamic Society
- Al-Furqan Nigeria
- Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society
- Al-Usrah Inc
- Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP)
- Baynakum Family Counselling Centre
- Centre for Global Peace Initiatives (CGPI)
- Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO)
- Da‘wah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN)
- Da‘wah Front of Nigeria (DFN)
- Faith for Peace Initiative (FPI)
- Federation of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN)
- Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative (HRAI)
- Islamic Impact Centre (IIC)
- Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN)
- Joint Muslim Action Forum (JOMAF)
- Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness (MICA)
- Muslim Awareness International (MAI)
- Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN)
- Muslim Media Watch Group (MMWG)
- Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria
- Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
- Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN)
- National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO)
- Network for Democracy and Development (NDD)
- Nigerian Development Group (NDG)
- Organisation of Tadhamunul Muslimeen (OTM)
- Patriots Advancement for Good Leadership (PAG)
- Quareeb Islamic Society of Nigeria
- Quds Foundation
- The ACADEMY
- The Companion
- The Muslim Congress (TMC)
- Women in Da‘wah (WiD)
