Addressing the Paradox: Counterinsurgency, Human Rights and Women in Northeast Nigeria

Abstract

Counterinsurgency (COIN) operations often result in widespread human rights violations because COIN operations are usually premised on the erroneous assumption of irreconcilable tension between human rights and national security. By reviewing narratives that frame official discourse on counterinsurgency and human rights in Nigeria as well as locating women at the heart of the debate, this essay argues that assumption of incompatibility between human rights and national security can explain the widespread rights violations associated with COIN operations against Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria. A gender-sensitive-right-based approach to COIN is therefore recommended.