By Jonathan Ugbal
The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, is set to establish a National Register against Hate Speech to promote normative principles and frameworks for the 2023 general elections.
NHRC is also working towards verifying and scrutinizing all national laws to ensure compliance with international human rights standards.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, stated this during two separate events earlier this week.
On the hate speech register, Mr. Ojukwu at the launch of Mobilizing Voters for Elections, MOVE, that the NHRC will also develop guidelines for the protection of voters’ access principles in security operations at elections and organize consultations and sensitisation for the Nigerian Police on the protection of voters’ access principles during elections.
“The MOVE project is expected to increase citizens’ participation in elections, and integrate human rights principles into the electoral process to ensure access. It will also increase participation and ensure human rights oversight in law enforcement and security before, during and after the elections,” Mr. Ojukwu said.
He said the Commission was moved to initiate this project due to its concern over the rising voter regression and political apathy that has descended into the political landscape since the 2011 general elections with only 10 percent of registered voters participating in the Anambra guber elections.
“The rising voter regression is a consequence of the mismanagement of Nigerian elections in the past. Characterized by violence, rigging and disenfranchisement of voters, failed elections bring about a lot of negative outcomes which ultimately erodes voters’ confidence in the electoral process.
“The lack of effective voter participation in elections robs citizens of their fundamental role in a democracy, which is the freedom to choose their representatives.
“We believe that this MOVE project will enable the Commission to integrate human rights into democracy and as well ensure citizens’ participation in the upcoming 2023 general elections,” he said.
On the scrutiny of laws, Mr. Ojukwu during a visit to the Commission by a delegation from the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate of the United Nations reiterated that the Commission is poised to introduce reforms that are peoples-right centered.
Ojukwu who was represented by the Director, Civil and Political Rights, Mr. Abdulrahaman Yakubu said the Commission has the power to review any law that negatively impact human rights. He added that the National Assembly has always drawn the attention of the Commission to any of such laws in order to ensure compliance with international best practices.
Earlier, the leader of the delegations, Ms. Kelly Low said the purpose of their visit was to assess Nigeria’s progress, strength, and challenges in the implementation of the Security Council Resolutions to enable them to make adequate recommendations on steps to be taken in order to fully implement the resolution.
She expressed satisfaction with the quantum of work that the Commission has carried out in relation to counter-terrorism in the North East which includes: monitoring the human rights and humanitarian challenges of IDP occasioned by insurgency, training security personnel on mainstreaming human rights in counter-terrorism operations, transitional justice program aimed at bringing lasting peace to the region most affected by insurgency, visits to detention facilities to monitor the conditions of inmates, among others.