The Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Robert Petri has pledged the support of his country in the implementation of the recommendation of the 2013 Universal Periodic Review to enhance the enjoyment of human rights in Nigeria.
The Ambassador who stated this during a courtesy call to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said he is in the Commission to intensify cooperation already established by President Muhammadu Buhari during his recent visit to the Netherlands.
Mr. Petri stated that Nigeria is very important to the Netherlands and that every success story recorded in the Nigeria State has a positive effect on other countries "If it goes well in Nigeria, it goes well with the rest of Africa and Europe because they are interconnected in several ways" he said.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission Tony Ojukwu Esq appreciated the gesture and commitment of the Netherlands to partner with the Commission. He said the Commission has a long history of human rights work with the Netherlands adding that most of the development programmes of the Commission actually started in partnership with the Netherlands years back.
The NHRC Boss said the Commission has one of the best human rights instruments but our greatest challenge is the lack of infrastructure and poor funding to effectively implement this instrument.
He further stated that in order to improve on the service delivery of the Commission, the Protection and Investigations Department have been decentralized to have three separate departments. This according to him is to ensure that complaints are handled with dispatch and no complaint is unattended to within the specified period.
He therefore solicited for technical support from the Netherlands in the area of infrastructure and training to ease the task of promoting and protection of human rights in Nigeria.
Lambert Oparah
Director (Corporate Affairs and External Linkages)
