Nigeria Faces UN’s Human Rights Council

Nigeria will today present a progress report on the situation of human rights in the country before the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

The occasion, which is the 17th Session of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group, of the Human Rights will afford other countries opportunity to ask questions on the situation of human rights from the Nigerian delegation likely to be led by the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN).

Investigations by THISDAY yesterday, which is covering the session, indicated that Nigeria would among other issues state what it had done with respect to reducing poverty, decongesting prisons and strengthening of the judicial system.

Also how far the country has gone in promoting women’s and children’s rights would also come under focus.

Among the issues the federal government would respond to, are efforts made to prevent politically motivated and sectarian and religious-based violence in the country.

It will also answer to efforts made to ensure that freedom of expression is respected and that Nigerian journalists take on their mission of providing information without harassment, including that the rights of journalists to report, comment on and criticise government policy freely and without fear.

The Nigerian delegation will also tell the world what the country had done to tackle human trafficking. Despite the criminalisation of same-sex in Nigeria, some countries have asked Nigeria to protect those suspected of engaging in same-sex. Nigeria will today also make presentation on the reduction of pollution in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

(2013-10-21/thisdaylive)