Nigeria’s Global Human Rights Setback: A Call for Introspection and Diplomatic Reforms after UNHRC Election Defeat

On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly elected 15 new countries into the Human Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR). The UNHCR was created in 2006 to have global oversights on human rights and freedoms across nations.

During the elections, Nigeria also ran for the council election and scored only three votes, whereas smaller countries like Malawi scored 182, Cote d’Ivoire garnered 181, and Burundi had 168.

This means that the world sees Malawi, Cote d’Ivoire, and Burundi as greater respecters of human rights than Nigeria. This is not a situation we can afford to ignore. Nigeria has never had it so bad internationally. What just happened was a referendum or interrogation of our human rights and political freedom records. It also means those who politically smile at us are possibly our worst enemies.

From now on, Nigeria must engage in deep introspection and critically appraise its human rights and political freedom records within the next three years and before the next election. This is a crucial step towards improvement. It must begin large-scale global diplomatic efforts to shore up its image abroad. It must shun using its coercive powers to arrest and detain people without following due process. It must also intensify its efforts to ensure people have quick access to justice.

Grace and peace!!!