CASER praises plan for human rights summit, insists it will benefit Nigerians

The Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER) has commended the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for its decision to hold the first ever National Human Rights Summit in Nigeria. 

Addressing a cross section of NGOs/CSOs leaders and staff of the NHRC, during the inauguration of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the summit on Friday, in Abuja, Tony Ojukwu, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, said the summit aims at mainstreaming human rights in Nigeria through the adoption of the rights based approach to sustainable development, peace and protected environment by all stakeholders,  including government at all levels, in the promotion, observation and enforcement of human rights in Nigeria. 

In a statement by its Executive Director, Barrister Frank Tietie; and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Gbenga Onayiga, CASER says it believes that the conceptualisation and ultimate implementation of the summit’s resolutions will, apart from Chapter 4 of the Nigerian  Constitution, be the best thing to have ever happened to human rights development in Nigeria. 

The human rights group stated further: “Indeed, this progressive move by the NHRC in launching the National Human Rights Summit, would become the most significant step forward, in recent times, in the development, realization and fulfillment of Nigeria’s International human rights obligations for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“The Management and Board of CASER thus, received with much pleasure, the appointment of its Executive Director, Frank Tietie, as a member of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the National Human Rights Summit.

“Therefore, since the National Human Rights Summit will form part of the events marking the International Human Rights Day celebrations on the 10th of December, 2019, CASER is seriously considering suspending its planned 2019 edition of its annual *Human Rights Fiesta* in order to fully mobilize Nigerian citizens to be part of the epoch-making Summit to be hosted by the NHRC in collaboration with other Nigerian NGOs/CSOs.

“CASER further considers that the National Human Rights Summit will be the most effective and significant means of re-enacting the responsibility of those who operate government, to ensure that Nigerians will begin to enjoy their God-given and constitutionally assured human rights in a manner never experienced before now in the history of Nigeria.

CASER assured the management of the NHRC that it will fully deploy its time and resources to support the Summit.

“We will work and pray for its success so that its outcome will benefit all Nigerians and ensure the continued fulfilment of Nigeria’s International human rights obligations not only to its citizens but to the rest of the international community,” the statement added.