Nobel Laureates' PETRA RESOLUTIONS

In furtherance of its aims to evolve stragies of "respond to human rights and humanitarian emergencies", PETRA CONFERENCE II of NOBEL LAUREATES took the following decision in response to the ongoing conflict in Nigeria's Delta region:

"To arrange for the visit of a Nobel Laureates commission to Nigeria in order to encourage implementation of, and establish monitoring mechanisms for the recent agreement on resource and power sharing between the central government and the embattled states. To this end, the commission will reach out to all concerned parties, and endeavour to establish a common ground that will lead to a comprehensive settlement, and the restoration of securiy to that region and its peoples."

Nigeria's Delta crisis, together with Sudan's Darfur region and Chad, formed the subject of a special closed-door session that took place at 8.a.m on June 22, under the chairmanship of Profesor Elie Wiesel. Two commissions were set up - one for Darfur and Chad, the other for Nigeria's Delta region. The composition of the Nigeria commission was concluded before the close of the conference, leaving only the dates to be agreed upon between the commission's individual members, with due consultations with the host state governments of the region.

Wole Soyinka