CIVIL society group, Development Dynamics, has taken on the Federal Government on their handling of human rights issues in the country.
While expressing displeasure on government’s alleged gassy attitude to human rights matters, the group said the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the country’s human rights performance has been adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council, in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to the Programme Director of the group, Jude Ohanele, in an online statement to AkanimoReports on Monday, ”we note the acceptance by Nigeria of the recommendation to ensure the enactment of the law for the domestication of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
”We note that Nigeria accepted a similar recommendation at its first cycle UPR in 2009. Then Nigeria made no significant progress in realizing it. We call on the government of Nigeria to take timely steps towards the enactment of the law for the domestication of CEDAW.
”We also note Nigeria’s acceptance of the recommendation for the enactment into law of the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Bill currently before the Nigerian parliament.
”We note again that a similar recommendation was accepted by Nigeria during its first cycle UPR in 2009. There is no result to show to date. We urge Nigeria to take the needed steps to enact the law and bring it into force”.
Continuing, they went on, ”we are concerned that the government of Nigeria did not consider the need to make the necessary legal adaptation to ensure that economic, social and cultural rights are considered as individual and enforceable rights, having the same status as all other human rights.
”Economic, social and cultural rights are not mere state goals or aspirations. The recommendation to make the legal adaptation was accepted by the government of Nigeria at the first cycle UPR in 2009.
”We strongly urge the government of Nigeria to make the legal adaptation required to ensure that economic, social and cultural rights are considered as individual and enforceable rights in Nigeria”.
