At the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process of the United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this week, member states’ recommendations should be adopted and implemented by the Nigerian government.
The recommendations, which were made on January 23, address a number of issues, such as the death penalty, the lack of justice and accountability for abuses committed by government security forces and other actors, women’s political participation, sexual and gender-based violence, child marriage, and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
The UPR is a peer-review approach where UN member states evaluate one another’s human rights records and suggest changes to meet international standards. Before the assessment, Human Rights Watch offered suggestions for states. Nigeria’s third UPR is this one.
The long-standing issue of violence for security force abuses has been brought up by numerous states. In order to protect rights and to create a section to look into police brutality against protesters in 2020, the United States, an important security companion, urged Nigeria’s government to change law enforcement practices. The United Kingdom urged Nigeria’s government to investigate human rights and humanitarian law violations, protect civilians engaged in armed conflict, and guarantee transparency for security forces’ crimes.
Numerous member states demanded Nigeria’s fast ban on the death sentence and its subsequent abolition, as well as the inclusion and participation of more women in government and access to justice for physical and gender-based offenses. Member states called for the repeal of Nigeria’s 2013 Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Law, the transfer of persons detained on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and the end of trials on these grounds in order to protect LGBT rights.
Folusho Fagbemi, the minister of justice and solicitor general of Nigeria, led a delegation to the review session that highlighted many policies, including the 2022–2026 National Action Plan to Protect Human Rights, that had been adopted to solve various rights issues since Nigeria’s 2018 UPR.
However, these activities have had little to no effect on key issues, particularly in regards to accountability for rights violations. Additionally, Nigerian officials have continued to criticize LGBT rights, including Fagbemi at this UPR.
The Nigerian government should take the UPR’s concerns seriously and start taking immediate action—beyond rules and policies—to address these issues, including swift and clear investigations and indictments of rights violations.
