By Abdullahi M. Gulloma Abuja
Th e federal government has inaugurated the inter-ministerial committee to prepare Nigeria’s third cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Th e committee was inaugurated yesterday in Abuja by the Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Dr. Habiba Lawal. She said the inauguration was necessary because the country’s second cycle report was presented in October 2013 at the 17th session of the working group on the universal periodic review of the human rights council. She said signifi cant developments and achievements have been recorded by Nigeria in the implementation of her voluntary commitments and recommendations accepted in the second cycle review.
She said the committee was mandated to prepare and submit to the federal government a draft report of the human rights situation in the country in accordance with the guidelines of the United Nations Human Rights Council. According to her, the committee “is also mandated to assess the level of implementation of the recommendations made to Nigeria by the United Nations Human Rights Council during the second review cycle, and take appropriate steps towards the implementation of recommendations accepted by Nigeria preparatory to the third review cycle of Nigeria by the council.”
She said the committee “is also expected to plan and coordinate the process necessary for the preparation of the UPR country report including the engagement of consultants to work on the draft report, and to facilitate any other steps that may be necessary to facilitate the preparation, production and submission of Nigeria’s report to the human rights council for third review of Nigeria under the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism.” Lawal said the present administration would do all within its powers to ensure that the country “lives up to its obligations in the comity of nations; hence the constitution of the inter-ministerial committee.”
