Nigeria: UN expert on extrajudicial
executions to visit
GENEVA (16 August 2019) – The UN
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes
Callamard, will visit Nigeria from 19 August to 2 September 2019 to investigate
issues concerning her mandate.
“I look forward to understanding
the scope of the challenges confronted with regard to arbitrary deprivations of
life and measures taken by the Government on such issues as the implementation
of counter terrorism policies and the conflicts between communities in
Nigeria,” Callamard said.
“I will also investigate violations
of the right to life of women, minorities, indigenous people, members of the
LGBTI community, internally displaced persons and human rights defenders.”
Callamard will also consider abuses
committed by State security agencies and non-State actors, particularly in the
North East and South of the country, as well as actions taken by the State to
hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
She will also assess measures
adopted by the State to address and prevent killings in clashes between herders
and farmers in the central part of the country, with a special focus on the
impact of climate change on rural communities.
The Special Rapporteur will also
examine issues relating to safeguards over the use of the death penalty, mainly
the situation of inmates on death row and the laws applied by Sharia courts.
Callamard will meet officials at
federal and state level, as well as the national human rights institution and
representatives of UN agencies, non-governmental organisations and civil
society. She will also visit areas outside the capital, Abuja.
At the end of her visit, the
Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference on 2 September 2019 to share
her preliminary findings with the media. It will take place at Transcorp Hilton
Abuja, 1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, 900001 Abuja. The time of the press
conference will be given later. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.
The UN expert’s final report on the
visit will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2020.
ENDS
Ms Agnes Callamard (France),
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, has a
distinguished career in human rights and humanitarian work globally. Ms
Callamard is the Director of Columbia Global Freedom of Expression at Columbia
University and has previously worked with Article 19 and Amnesty International.
She has advised multilateral organisations and governments around the world,
has led human rights investigations in more than 30 countries, and has
published extensively on human rights and related fields.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of
what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special
Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights
system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring
mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues
in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary
basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They
are independent from any government or organization and serve in their
individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page –
Nigeria
For more information and media
requests, please contact: Ms Maria Victoria Gabioud (+41 22 917 9325 /
mgabioud@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to
other UN independent experts please contact: Mr. Jeremy Laurence (+41 22 917
9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)
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