Lawyers and journalists have examined the state of human rights administration. They set agenda for the government and the media on ways to ensure effective rights protection. ERIC IKHILAE reports
How can human rights be better protected in Nigeria? This was the question media and legal experts sought to answer at a forum organised by the National Association of judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Abuja chapter.
It had the theme: The role of the media in promoting human rights.
Speakers assessed the human rights performance of successive administrations and suggested ways the media could boost human rights protection.
Speakers, including Prof Dakas C. J. Dakas (SAN) of the University of Jos, Tobi Soniyi of ThisDay newspapers and Reuben Buhari of the Leadership newspapers said unlike what existed during the military era, there is improvement in the observance and promotion of human rights under the current administration.
They were also of the view that despite the achievements so far, there was need for improvement both on the side of the government, its agencies and the media, in constantly keeping them (government and its agencies) on their toes.
They urged the media see the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act a ready tool to be deploy to seek openness on government and demand protection for the rights of the people. They urged the media engage in continuous training to keep abreast of current development and know when to raise questions and demand actions.
They argued that although the right to freedom of expression was a universally acknowledge and respected right, the media should exercise such right responsibly and refrain from inaccurate, irresponsible reportage capable of inflaming the society.
Dakas, who gave the keynote address suggested efforts must now be directed at the ensuring the realisation of what are now classified as the second and third generations of rights as against the much emphasised first generation of rights, which are basically civil and political rights, provided for in Chapter Four of the Constitution.
“The rights to life, the right to personal liberty, the right to human dignity, the right to freedom of expression and the press, the right to freedom of religion, among others. These are basic fundamental rights that are civil and political in nature that you find encapsulated in Chapter four of the Nigerian Constitution.
“There is also a second generation of rights, which are essentially economic, social and cultural in nature. They include the right to food, the right to education, the right to health, the right to housing, among others. These rights that are economic, social and cultural in nature are not expressly provided for in the Nigerian Constitution in the sense in which a deprived citizen can seek redress in court.
“At best, what you have in the Constitution are the “fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy,” contained in Chapter two of the Constitution, which the Constitution itself, makes non-justiciable.
“There is also the third generation of human rights, which are essentially the solidarity rights. They include the right to safe and clean environment, the right to international peace and security, among others.
Dakas noted that while the existing legal regime guarantees the civil and political rights, as provided in Chapter Four of the Constitution, it made a halfhearted effort at addressing the economic, social and cultural rights in Chapter two, which it made non-justiciable.
He argued that the huddle created by the non-justiciability of Chapter Two can now be sidestepped with the activation of the African Chatter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), which the country has domesticated.
Dakas further argued that with the domestication of ACHPR, Nigerians can now to go to court to activate the judicial process on the basis of violation of the provisions of the ACHPR, which encapsulates all the generations of human rights and makes them justiciable.
“So, even for those, who argue that because Chapter Two of the Nigerian Constitution is not justiciable, but simply provides for fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy, they need to acknowledge that the ACHPR is now part of Nigerian law. And by reason of the domestication of the ACHPR, it is possible to go to court and activate the judicial process in order to ensure the enforcement of the rights provided for in the ACHPR, including those rights that are economic, social and cultural in nature,” he said.
Dakas noted that as against past experience, particularly during the military era, efforts are being made to protect the rights of the citizens under the current administration.
Dakas pointed at the plausible roles played in recent time by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) . He said although the commission was created under the military, with limited powers, the recent amendment to its establishment Act has provided a framework for the commission to have a robust engagement with the subject of human rights.
The Law Professor, who noted that there are positive developments that are ongoing, in terms of the works the NHRC has done and is still doing in the area of rights protection and enforcement, also noted that with the recent amendment to its Act, the commission can issue an order that has the force of a High Court order.
He commended the government for the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, which was rejected by the Obasanjo administration. He highlighted the benefits of the Act and argued that the people can leverage on the opportunity presented by the Act to lift the veil of secrecy that often pervades the conduct of government affairs, and demand that government businesses are conducted in manners that are credible.
He observed that the people, particularly journalists are not leveraging as much as they should on the FOI Act. “As journalists, if you leverage on the FOI Act, you will find that you will be impacting greatly in the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes in the country.”
Despite the noted achievements, the lecturer identified existing challenges, which he said must be addressed. They include the for the military and intelligence agencies involved in the current efforts against the insurgents to ensure that they conduct counter-terrorism in a manner that is human rights compliant.
“It is in the interest of the security and intelligence community to ensure that counter terrorism administration reckons with the reality of human rights and mainstream human rights into counter terrorism administration. Otherwise, you will find that they leave themselves vulnerable to prosecution by Nigerian authorities, and where the Nigerian authorities are unwilling, they will be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC),” he said.
He urged the government to domesticate the Kampala Convention, a continental initiative to address the plight of the Internally Displaced People (IDP). He contended that it was not enough for the Nigerian government to ratify the convention, but that it should take a further and necessary step of domesticating the convention to allow for its municipal invocation as required under Section 12 of the Constitution.
Dakas urged the government to also do more to alleviate the plight of the IDPs as it relates to meeting their basic subsistence and their rights to vote in the coming elections.
He urged the government to direct efforts at addressing economic, social and cultural rights, arguing that the government cannot ignore the people’s rights to shelter, education, health, among others on the basis of lack of found.
“The government should demonstrate that it is prioritising theses rights and that it is not frittering away resources in the name of corruption and pretending that there are no funds. It is one thing to have resources and it is another to ensure that the little that is realised is prudently utilised.
Dakas noted that the media has a major role to play in promoting respect and protection of human rights. He said journalists must be vigilant and alert in reporting cases of rights abuses to keep government and its agencies on their toes.
He reminded journalists that the right to freedom of expression and of the press, guaranteed by the Constitution, is not an absolute right that should be exercise to the detriment of the larger society. He said journalists, in the course of performing their responsibilities, must ensure accuracy. He also advised them to engage in constant self-improvement to prevent instances of inaccurate reportage of court proceedings
“As judiciary correspondents, if you do not understand the nuances and fundamentals of human rights investigation, monitoring and reporting, you will be looking in the wrong places and be looking for the wrong things,” he said.
Soniyi noted the increasing responsibility modern society has placed on the media, which now include reporting, analyzing and commenting on issues and events as they unfold. He stressed the need for journalist to always be guided by the interest of the larger society and avoid being influenced by the government or concerned interests.
“The media, in reporting rights violations, should look deep into the problem and provide solutions. Mere reporting of the facts is not enough. It should give reasons for the problem, the nature of violations and proceed to give solutions,” he said.
Buhari, who noted that the media was not doing enough to report the various rights abuses being perpetrated in the troubled Northeastern part of the country, urged media owners to empower journalists to put in their best.
He said Nigerian journalists can compete effectively with their foreign counterpart if well equipped and protected.
Buhari gave an instance where he was harassed and threatened with detention by the police for publishing pictures of killings and destructions in Southern Kaduna during one of the crisis.
He said rather the being commended, the police, who wanted everything hidden from the public, accused him of publishing inciting materials.
Buhari urged the journalists not to be deterred by existing challenges, but to seek creative ways of overcoming such challenges.
