Fashola seeks global consensus on information to end refugee crises

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has called for global consensus on information dissemination to stem conflicts around the world.

He disclosed this in a speech, titled: ‘Home And Abroad’, to commemorate World Refugee Day 2022 and the 10th memorial of the founder of African Refugees Foundation (AREF), Chief Segun Olusola.

Fashola warned “those who still beat the drums of war and conflict as their preferred solution to disputes and misunderstandings,” saying, “be very careful what you wish for.”

He lamented the current state of the world where “everybody can publish and disseminate information whether true or false, and no one is really in control, in spite of government efforts to regulate microblogging sites from which verified, unverified and unverifiable information can travel almost faster than the speed of light and effectively at a push of the one button which reads – SEND.”

He said: “In other words, every one of us can cause a problem abroad from home, or cause a problem at home from abroad at the push of a button. This is a big concern.

“I propose, therefore, that the global legal order requires urgent and compelling revision to bring about global consensus on matters such as regulating these kinds of things, creating identifiable institutions who can be held responsible and accountable for what is published.”

The minister added: “The global legal order must also evolve new rules for governments worldwide about setting minimal but enforceable standards of protecting citizens and immigrants from genocide, ethnic cleansing, political persecution racism etc., as potential sources of conflict and dislocation at home and abroad.”