NHRC builds capacity of Gombe MDAs on human rights protection

NHRC builds capacity of Gombe MDAs on human rights protection

By Elizabeth Ogunjobi

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in collaboration with Viva Atlantic Limited, has organised a two-day workshop for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Gombe State to strengthen human rights protection.

Dr Tony Ojukwu, Executive Secretary of NHRC, said at the event in Gombe on Thursday that the training aimed to enlighten MDA officials on their roles in promoting human rights effectively.

The theme of the training was: “Implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nigeria 2024-2028,” focusing on institutional responsibility across government agencies.

Ojukwu, represented by Dr Joseph Wanshe, the Gombe State coordinator, said participation by MDAs remained key to the successful implementation of the NAP and promotion of human rights across government.

He described the NAP as a national framework whose implementation should not be reserved for NHRC, but should be a collective responsibility involving all relevant stakeholders across government and society.

He said the training was also designed to ensure that a human rights-based approach became part of government planning, policy formulation, budgeting, regulation, programme implementation, service delivery, monitoring and evaluation processes.

“The 2024-2028 NAP provides us with the opportunity to move from commitment to implementation, from policies to measurable results, from the institutional responsibility to institutional accountability.

“Your participation is significant because the successful implementation of this NAP depends to a very large extent on the ownership and commitment of MDAs in government.

“The question before us is no longer simply whether we support human rights. The question is what each MDA is doing to advance and protect human rights within its mandate.

“The success of the NAP must be measured by the difference that Nigerians experience in their everyday lives.

“Behind every policy, behind every person, behind every government programme is a citizen whose rights may be affected by the decision that we make.

“Our collective responsibility, therefore, is to ensure that Nigerians within our jurisdiction as MDAs can enjoy their rights without discrimination and with effective access to justice and remedies,” he said.

Ojukwu urged participants to remain committed to NAP implementation, so that “we can transform the NAP from a policy document into a living instrument of governance for the promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria.”

Some participants who spoke to newsmen pledged commitment to mainstreaming human rights into their institutional processes and working with the commission to entrench a culture of human rights in the state.

Mrs Rebecca Bature, Manager, News, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Gombe, and Mr Daniel Salihu, Assistant Director and Head of Civic Values and Democracy Education, National Orientation Agency, commended NHRC for training.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 35 officials drawn from different MDAs in Gombe State participated in the two-day training on human rights and NAP implementation.

NHRC builds capacity of Gombe MDAs on human rights protection