The UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has reaffirmed its commitment toward promoting sustainable peace in Nigeria.
Mr Laurent De Boeck, Chief of IOM Mission in Nigeria, said this in his address at the celebration of the 2023 International Day for the Right to the Truth on Friday in Abuja.
The event was organised by the IOM in collaboration with NHRC and the UNDP to commemorate the day often celebrated annually on March 24, with focus on violation of human rights and dignity of victims.
The organisation said it was partnering the United Nation Development Programme and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in ensuring that peace and development took center stage peace in the country.
“We must recognise that the pursuit of truth and justice is a long and challenging journey, but it is one that we must undertake if we are to build better society.
“It is our responsibility to see that truth is revealed and that those responsible for human rights abuses are held accountable for their actions.
“IOM in collaboration with UNDP, UNODC and UNICEF is willing to support the Federal Government for the implementation of the Borneo Model.
“The model emphasizes importance of community engagement and participation in the process of addressing the needs of victims and promoting reconciliation.
“IOM in collaboration with UNDP and NHRC intends to create awareness on rights of affected population, to know complete truth, engender reconciliation and reintegration of communities for sustainable peace in Nigeria,” Boeck said.
Also speaking at the event, the Executive-Secretary of NHRC, Mr Tony Ojukwu, said the mission established pilot project of missing persons register in Borno State in 2021 to achieve targets.
According to him, awareness about missing persons and plight of their families would help to find the truth about them in the country.
Ojukwu said, “All these projects are driven by the NHRC to protect the human rights of Nigerians and establish the truth about causes of these human rights violations.
“To proffer effective remedies to victims and to avoid future reoccurrence. In Nigerian context, the implementation of the right to truth has faced challenges.
“This is due to lack of political will among government officials, institutional capacity, lack of resources and engagement with civil society to implement the concepts.
“Nevertheless, the implementation of the right to truth has the potential to promote accountability, reconciliation and peace in Nigeria.”
In a PowerPoint presentation, Benedict Agu, Senior Research Fellow Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, emphasized the need for proper sensation about human rights, to promote the consciousness.
“The take away for today is to sensitize stakeholders about rights for the truth, for promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria.
“This is a novel issue in the country; what we are trying to do is bring this in the psyche of Nigerians, so that people will uphold their rights.
“To know what happened in the past as violations of human right is concerned, in order to enable them fight for justice,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr Benson Olugbode, Executive-Director, Centre for Civilian in Conflict said, “The purpose is to honour victims of human rights violations”.
“To promote rights to truth and justice; to pay tribute to those who devoted their lives or lost their lives in struggle to protect human right for all,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Omeiza Ajayi, Senior Political Correspondent, Vanguard Media Ltd., urged media organisations to continue to play vital role in the promotion of human rights.
He quoted late Chinue Achebe, saying “Eleke the bird says since hunters have learnt to shoot without missing, he has learnt to fly without perching”.
“So, since armed group and some rogue state actors have learnt the act of enforced disappearance, the media must evolve ways to unravel circumstances behind such disappearances.
“In defending rights to truth, the media must remember its role as gatekeepers and not porches, it must never align with the oppressors of human rights.”
Common violations of human rights refer to abductions, arbitrary arrests, detentions without trial, political executions, assassinations, and torture, while violation of the dignity of victims refers to acts that humiliate or diminish the self-worth of a person or a group.
The annual observance pays tribute to the memory of Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero, who was murdered on March 24, 1980.
He was known for actively engaging in denouncing violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable individuals in El Salvador.
The highpoint of the event was awareness walk and joint celebration of the 2023 “International Day for the Right to the Truth.