THISDAY
UN Chides Nigeria on Human Rights RecordsFrom Kingsley Nwezeh and Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 05.13.2005
United Nations (UN) yesterday took a swipe at Nigeria over its poor human rights records, warning that outlawing the labour union was an indication of "lack of commitment" on the part of the Federal Government to human rights issues.
Addressing newsmen at UN House in Abuja, the Special Representative of UN Secretary General on human rights defenders, Mrs. Hina Jilani, kicked against the Public Order Act which she said was an impediment to the realisation of the right to freedom of assembly as well as the right of trade unions to embark on strike actions.
"The freedom of assembly has not been fully realised by by those who conduct activities for human rights. The Public Order Act still deters freedom of assembly. I am told you must obtain permission from the police before embarking on a protest and that is not in order," she said.
She warned Federal Government against the recently passed anti-labour law which she said was retrogressive just as she waved aside explanations by government officials that the idea behind the anti-labour law was aimed at curtailing the habit of the labour union to force unwilling workers into embarking on strike actions.
"Any attempt to curtail labour rights shows a lack of commitment to rights and social issues. Recent changes in the labour laws struck at trade unions. Government made its position clear to me that strikes were forced on the workforce by Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) hence the need for smaller trade unions but the government account does not match what is on ground," she said.
While admitting that government allows a level of engagement, she posited that "it is not enough" while criticising the attitude of government in setting up human rights panels without making such reports public.
On the use of violence to quell demonstrations, she said UN was aware of "excessive use of force during protests which leads also to toture in detention and cases where lawyers handling cases for their clients were beaten up" in addition to the intrusive activities of State Security Services (SSS) on human rights organisations.
The UN representative also condemened "environmental damage" in oil producing communiteies in the Niger Delta region which creates social difficulties and health problems.
On the activities of human rights groups in the country, she asserted that they operated in a state of insecurity maintaining that there was "palpable apprehension" on the part of the groups ahead 2007 elections.
She warned donor countries to note that while funding civil society organisations, which usually urged rights organisations to work in partnership with governments to underline the need for such groups to operate independently of governments in order to function effectively.
According to Jilani, her findings after a two-week stay in the country which she stated above would form the fulcrum of her recommendations to the United Nations on the perfomance of the Federal Government as they relate to human rights violations and related matters.
12:37:54 AM 
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