FG Facilitates Stakeholders’ Consultations for Collation of Nigeria’s Human Rights Report for UN

The Federal Government, last week in Lagos, continued stakeholders’ consultations across the six geo-political zones, to collate information for Nigeria’s National Report pertaining to the United Nations Fourth Cycle Universal Periodic Review. 

In her welcome address to delegates at the South-West engagement session in Lagos, the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, represented at the event by the Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee, Princess F. Frank Chukwuani, called on stakeholders in the justice and human rights sector to participate in meaningful and productive consultations, in a bid to generate accurate and up to date information for the 4th Cycle of the United Nations Human Rights Universal Periodic Review of Nigeria (UPR).

She said: “Today’s stakeholders’ engagement is part of the work plan for collating information and useful data, from various stakeholders in the South Western geopolitical zone of the country. This is in line with the United Nations (UN) guidelines on national reporting, which stipulates that a country’s national report should be independent, objective, transparent, and inclusive. “Therefore I enjoin all stakeholders to please engage in meaningful and productive consultations in a bid to facilitate an efficient, reliable and accurate data/information collation process for our National Report to the United Nations”.

“The IMC is tasked with the mandate of overseeing the preparation of Nigeria’s National Report to the UNHRC, and has set in place modalities in the preparation of Nigeria’s Report, among which are stakeholders’ engagement throughout the six geo-political zones of the country. The consultations were convened by the Government, for purposes of collating information which will be used in the preparation of our national Report.

The event was attended by relevant stakeholders from the public sector (MDAs), Non-Governmental Organisations, and Civil Society Organisations in the South-West Zone, including members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, Lawyers from the State Ministries of Justice across the South-West zone, and other stakeholders knowledgeable on Human Rights issues. Stakeholders and participants alike, made valuable and meaningful contributions on the subject, especially regarding implementation of Government policies aimed at addressing the concerns raised in the UN recommendations to Nigeria during its 3rd Cycle review in 2018.

Nigeria’s 4th review process commenced in September 2022, and in line with its work plan, Nigeria is expected to prepare and submit her National Report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October 2023, for its review during the 45th Session of the UPR Working Group Session in Geneva, scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2024.

In driving the UPR process nationally, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, inaugurated the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC).The Committee is co-chaired by the Solicitor General of the Federation/Permanent Secretary (SGF/PS), Federal Ministry of Justice (FMoJ), Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba,  and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa; with Princess F. Frank-Chukwuani as the Secretary.  

“The objectives of the UPR are to review the fulfilment of the human rights commitments and obligations of all UN member States (as set out in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all Human Rights Instruments to which the State is a party); and to improve the human rights situations in all countries, and address human rights violations wherever they occur amongst others.

Nigeria has been involved in the past UPR process, and was reviewed in the 1st Cycle which was held in 2009, the 2nd and 3rd Review Cycles were in 2013 and 2018 respectively.